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HISTORY  FOR  GRADED  A Nt)"':: 
DISTRICT  SCHOOLS 


BY 


ELLWOOD   WADSWORTH   KEMP 

HEAD   OF  DEPARTMENT  OF  HISTORY,   INDIANA  STATE  NORMAL 
SCHOOL,  TERRE   HAUTE,  IND. 


Boston,  U.S.A.,  and  London 

GINN   &   COMPANY,    PUBLISHERS 

1903 


•••••••    • 

•  »     ••••••     • 


.♦    •••    -*«•*•■   • 


•  »     • 

•  •  •  «  « 


<4 


Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall 


Copyright,  1902 
By    ELLWOOD   W.    KEMP 

All  rights  reserved 

EDUCATION  OfcPT. 


Typography  by  J.  S.  CusHrNG  &  Co.,  Norwood,  Mass. 
Press  Work  by  The  Athen^um  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass. 


cue 


PREFACE 

"  Truth  is  one  ! 
And  in  all  lands  beneath  the  sun, 
Whoso  has  eyes  to  see  may  see 
The  tokens  of  its  unity.11 

The  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  present  a  framework 
of  history  for  the  graded  and  district  schools ;  that  is, 
for  children  from  six  to  about  fifteen  years  of  age. 

The  effort  has  been  made  to  present  the  material  in 
such  connection  throughout  the  grades  that  it  would 
gradually  develop  in  pupils'  minds  the  idea  of  the  unity 
of  history,  and  thus  finally  lead  them  to  feel  that  history 
is  an  unbroken  stream  of  life,  of  which  the  present 
in  general,  and  their  lives  in  particular,  constitute  an 
important  part. 

It  is  not  thought  that  the  material  presented  here  for 
each  grade  will  be  entirely  sufficient  for  teachers  who 
have  exceptional  advantages  for  carrying  on  primary 
history  work.  It  is  intended  as  a  general  framework, 
furnishing,  perhaps,  the  greater  part  of  the  material 
which  the  teacher  having  all  the  grades  will  be  able  to 
teach,  but  which  the  teacher  having  but  one  or  two  grades 
and  good  library  advantages  should  use  to  build  and 
to  enlarge  upon,  according^  to  particular  circumstances. 


:coraingto  p; 

54  3244 


iv  PREFACE 

It  is  hoped  it  will  give  both  teachers  and  pupils  a  habit 
of  investigation  which  will  lead  them  to  acquire  much 
more  material  than  is  here  presented.  In  teaching  the 
subject  the  teacher  should  enlarge  on  the  material  here 
presented  through  poem,  picture,  map,  narrative  from 
other  books,  and  the  religious,  social,  political,  indus- 
trial and  educational  life  which  immediately  surrounds 
the  pupil.  It  should  be  the  teacher's  constant  method 
to  turn  historical  material  into  simple  historical  prob- 
lems, and  to  guide  the  children  to  work  out  these  prob- 
lems. If  pupils  are  to  derive  most  benefit  from  history 
they  must  live  it,  just  as  the  people  whom  they  are 
studying  about  lived  it,  go  through  with  the  struggles 
and  triumphs  (mentally  of  course  in  most  cases)  which 
these  people  passed  through,  and,  by  so  doing,  have 
their  own  historical  views  and  feelings  broadened  and 
deepened.  It  is  by  work  of  this  kind  rather  than  by 
mere  memory  work  that  pupils  are  made  historically 
minded,  —  that  is,  made  to  see  and  feel  and  live  to 
some  degree  the  whole  sum  of  man's  history. 

In  primary  history-teaching  the  use  of  story  and 
biography  is  almost  indispensable.  With  this  in  view, 
I  have  suggested  at  the  close  of  each  chapter  appro- 
priate biographies  to  be  studied  to  illustrate  the  general 
historical  movement.  But  the  biographies  of  eminent 
persons,  who  have  in  no  small  measure  both  made  and 
guided  the  historical  stream,  cannot  be  understood  apart 
from  the  stream  itself.  By  teaching  something  of  the 
general  life  of  the  people,  as  well  as  biographies  of 
eminent  men,  it  is  my  observation  that  children,  even 
in  the  lower  grades,  may  be  given  a  general,  simple 
and  connected  view  of  the  stream  of  history  itself,  as 


PREFACE  V 

well  as  some  appreciation  of  the  most  notable  char- 
acters who  have  taken  part  in  guiding  its  course. 

It  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasized  that  it  is  abso- 
lutely impossible  to  do  good  work  in  history  in  the 
grades  without  reference  books  and  good  maps.  They 
are  as  essential  to  both  pupil  and  teacher  as  tools  to  a 
carpenter  or  compass  to  a  navigator.  At  the  end  of 
each  chapter  a  short  list  of  reference  books  is  given. 
Particular  effort  has  been  made  to  suggest  such  books 
as  will  present  not  alone  the  political,  but  also  the  social, 
artistic,  religious,  industrial  and  educational  aspects  of 
history.  A  short  list  has  purposely  been  selected,  think- 
ing that  a  long  list  would  tend  more  to  confuse  than  to 
assist  the  teachers  for  whom  this  book  is  intended.  In 
the  present  state  of  knowledge  on  the  part  of  teachers 
who  are  teaching  history  in  the  public  schools  a  few 
well-chosen  books  will  be  of  greater  assistance  than  a 
large  miscellaneous  selection. 

Finally,  I  wish  to  say  that  the  material  presented  in 
the  body  of  this  book  has  been  mainly  worked  out  in 
daily  discussion  and  recitation  during  the  past  few 
years  in  my  work  with  teachers  in  the  Indiana  State 
Normal  School.  It  has  been  used  by  teachers  in  the 
public  schools  as  a  barsis  for  grade  work  in  the  respec- 
tive grades,  with  what  is  believed  to  have  been  good 
results.  It  is  in  the  hope  to  give  the  material  a  larger 
field  to  test  its  usefulness  that  it  is  now  published. 

My  thanks  are  due  to  scores  of  teachers  in  the  public 
schools  who  have  rendered  great  assistance  by  testing 
the  material  in  their  daily  work  in  the  schoolroom,  and 
who  have  given  valuable  suggestions  for  adapting  it  to 
the  stages  of  mental  capacity  of  children  in  the  respec- 


VI  PREFACE 

• 
tive  grades.  I  shall  regard  it  as  a  special  favor  if  all 
such,  and  any  others  who  may  use  the  book,  will  call 
my  attention  to  any  errors  that  may  be  found  in  it,  or 
make  suggestions  by  which  it  may  be  rendered  more 
useful.  My  especial  thanks  are  due  to  Miss  Belle 
Caffee,  critic  teacher  in  the  First  Primary  Grade  in  the 
Training  School  Department  of  the  Indiana  State  Nor- 
mal School,  for  invaluable  assistance  in  developing  and 
formulating  the  work  for  the  first  grade. 


ELLWOOD  W.  KEMP. 


Terre  Haute,  Indiana, 
1902. 


SUGGESTIONS    TO    PRIMARY 
TEACHERS 

It  is  pretty  well  agreed  now  among  many  teachers 
of  primary  history  that  something  of  the  history  of 
primitive  man  should  be  taught  to  little  children.  The 
lack  of  authentic  historical  material  in  sufficient  amount 
to  give  a  real  insight  into  the  actual  life  of  the  people 
and  in  such  a  form  as  to  be  easily  available  has  led, 
however,  to  much  discouragement  on  the  part  of  teach- 
ers in  attempting  this  work.  It  is  hoped  that  the  mate- 
rial here  given,  together  with  the  suggestions  for  pre- 
senting the  work,  will  help  teachers  to  make  this  subject 
a  moral  force  in  the  development  of  the  children  under 
their  care.  The  facts  of  primitive  life  given  here  and  in 
the  author's  "  Outlines  of  History  for  Graded  and  Dis- 
trict Schools  "  have  been  very  carefully  selected  with 
a  view  to  their  historical  accuracy.  But  even  if  the 
facts  taught  are  accurate,  the  teacher  should  keep  her 
mind  free  from  the  idea  that  this  or  any  other  material 
should  be  taught  for  the  sake  of  mere  individual  facts, 
as  well  as  from  the  even  more  harmful  notion  that  any 
pleasing  little  story  of  primitive  life,  whether  true  to  the 
spirit  or  to  the  facts  of  the  time  or  not,  will  take  the  place 
of  history  proper.  Of  course  little  children  are  unable 
to  study  history  by  the  abstract  methods  used  in  mature 


viii         SUGGESTIONS   TO   PRIMARY   TEACHERS 

life.  The  idea  held  by  the  author  is  that  the  child 
should  have  the  material  so  presented  to  him  as  to 
awaken  his  historical  imagination,  so  that  he  may  live 
over  again  in  imagination  the  life  of  the  people  whom 
he  studies  as  they  actually  lived  it.  He  should  become 
the  primitive  man  in  spirit,  meeting  his  problems  with 
a  realizing  sense  of  the  necessity  of  their  solution, 
thinking  out  for  himself  under  the  guidance  of  the 
teacher  ways  of  overcoming  the  difficulty,  finally  choos- 
ing the  real  method,  —  the  method  by  which  the 
human  race  itself  made  its  successive  steps  in  its 
progress.  The  child  should  then  feel  something  of  the 
freedom  which  resulted  from  overcoming  the  difficulties 
encountered.  He  will  thus  be  studying  history  by  living 
it.  And  by  living  it  he  will  have  his  life  transformed 
by  it.  The  steps  taken,  then,  in  developing  the  history 
work  in  primary  grades  should  conform  very  closely  to 
the  actual  order  of  growth  through  which  mankind 
passed  in  his  various  stages  of  development. 

Now,  when  any  advance  has  been  made  in  civiliza- 
tion, man  has  been  forced  by  various  needs  and  desires 
to  make  it.  He  has  wrought  out  the  improvement 
slowly,  has  made  many  mistakes  and  has  had  many 
periods  of  discouragement.  Sometimes  he  might  seem 
even  to  slip  backward  for  a  while ;  but  at  last  he  takes 
a  fresh  breath,  pushes  forward  with  new  energy,  and 
feels  the  joy  of  overcoming  difficulties  and  the  greater 
freedom  which  results  from  his  struggles  and  triumphs. 
So  the  child  in  reproducing  this  experience  of  the 
early  steps  of  mankind  within  himself  should  first  feel 
the  need,  that  is,  the  limitation  in  life  the  early  people 
felt ;  second,  should  find  a  way  by  which  this  limitation 


SUGGESTIONS   TO   PRIMARY   TEACHERS  ix 

to  his  happiness  and  freedom  may  be  removed,  and 
third,  as  a  result  of  removing  the  difficulty  should  him- 
self realize  the  larger  and  freer  life  which  followed.  We 
will  use  as  one  illustration  of  this  method  a  lesson  that 
was  given  in  the  first  grade,  dealing  with  the  early  Aryan 
people  in  the  Volga  valley,  showing  the  improvement 
in  the  primitive  plow.  The  children  were  led  to  "  feel 
the  need  the  Aryans  felt"  by  imagining  two  Aryans 
plowing,  one  dragging  the  heavy,  clumsy  instrument, 
the  other  guiding  and  pushing  it  on  from  behind.  They 
saw  the  poor  results  accomplished  and  felt  the  great 
fatigue  resulting.  With  these  primitive  farmers,  they 
wished  for  a  better  plow.  Thinking  out  how  this  defect 
in  Aryan  life  was  to  be  remedied  formed  the  second 
step  of  the  lesson.  One  child  suggested  that  a  heavier 
stick  should  be  used  as  a  plow  so  the  furrow  would  be 
deeper.  This,  another  answered,  would  make  it  all  the 
harder  for  the  workers.  One  suggested  that  the  plow 
should  have  an  iron  point.  He  was  reminded  by  a 
practical  little  fellow  that  the  early  Aryans  knew  noth- 
ing about  iron.  Then  another  said,  "They  might  put 
a  sharp  stone  on  for  a  point."  All  objections  to  this 
were  shown  to  be  insufficient ;  then  they  were  told  that 
they  were  right,  and  that  this  was  the  first  great  step 
made  by  the  Aryans  in  plowing  ground.  Realizing  the 
effect  of  this  improvement  upon  the  early  Aryans, 
formed  the  third  step  of  the  lesson.  The  children  again 
imagined  the  same  men  plowing,  but  with  the  new  plow. 
They  saw  the  deeper  furrow  and  reasoned  that  therefore 
the  grain  would  grow  better.  They  saw  that  the  work 
was  not  so  slow  nor  so  difficult,  and  so  concluded  that 
they  could  either  plow  more  ground  and  raise  larger 


X  SUGGESTIONS   TO   PRIMARY   TEACHERS 

crops   or  use  their  leisure  to  improve  in  other  direc- 
tions. 

Another  similar  lesson  was  given  in  the  same  grade 
on  the  invention  of  a  boat.  The  first  step  was  taken 
by  leading  the  children  to  think  of  the  Aryan  family 
as  having  had  only  meat  for  food  for  many  months. 
The  weather  was  very  warm,  and  they  were  tired  of 
this  monotonous  fare.  They  were  traveling  southward 
along  the  west  bank  of  the  Volga  River,  which  was 
here  unusually  narrow,  swift  and  deep,  when  they  saw 
on  the  other  side  many  plum  trees  heavily  laden  with 
fruit.  The  men  and  older  boys  swam  across  and  ate 
freely,  but  of  course  returned  empty-handed.  Arya, 
being  but  a  young  lad,  was  not  allowed  to  go,  and  he 
with  the  rest  of  the  little  children  beg  for  plums.  The 
second  step,  thinking  out  a  way  to  get  the  plums,  was 
now  taken.  Arya  wishes  he  could  float  a  log  over  to 
the  other  side  and  get  some  plums.  Once  before  he 
did  float  in  this  way  a  long  distance  down  the  river. 
So  he  runs  down  to  the  river  now  and  tries  it,  but  the 
log  floats  down  stream  with  him  in  spite  of  his  efforts 
to  push  himself  across  with  a  long  pole.  Finally  the 
log  turns  over  with  him,  and  he  is  thrown  into  the 
water.  A  herdsman,  who  is  returning  from  a  second 
trip  for  plums,  catches  him  and  carries  him  out  of 
the  water.  As  soon  as  he  gets  his  breath,  Arya  tells 
him  what  he  has  tried  to  do,  and  the  man  promises 
him  that  he  will  try  to  find  some  way  for  him  to 
cross  the  river,  get  the  fruit,  and  bring  some  back  with 
him.  Thus  the  children  were  led  on  to  think  of  the 
herdsman's  talk  with  three  of  his  brothers,  their  select- 
ing a  large  tree,  their  work  in  cutting  it  down  and 


SUGGESTIONS   TO   PRIMARY    TEACHERS  xi 

hollowing  it  out  with  stone  axes  and  fire,  their  many 
attempts  to  float  it,  their  final  success,  and  at  last  the 
improvement  from  the  long  pole  to  the  oars  as  a  means 
of  propulsion.  The  immediate  effect  of  this  invention  is 
seen  at  once.  But  the  children  may  be  led  not  only  to 
feel  the  joy  of  getting  the  fruit  this  time,  but  may  be 
led  also  to  realize  something  of  the  increased  power 
over  nature  that  was  thus  gained. 

In  these  two  illustrations  the  first  and  second  steps, 
i.e.  first,  feeling  the  need,  and  second,  contriving  a  way 
to  meet  it,  were  emphasized.  In  the  study  of  the 
domestication  of  the  pig  (for  full  outline,  see  "  Outline 
of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools"),  the  third 
step,  i.e.  seeing  the  effect  of  this  fact  upon  the  insti- 
tutions and  the  lives  of  the  people,  was  dwelt  upon 
longer,  the  children  reasoning  out  one  effect  after  an- 
other, directed  of  course  in  their  thought  by  the  teacher. 
We  see,  thus,  that  a  fact  in  history,  studied  in  the  pri- 
mary grades,  may  be  studied  in  the  light  of  time,  place 
and  its  cause  and  effect,  as  it  would  be  if  studied  by  a 
mature  person,  the  main  difference  being  the  relative 
degree  to  which  the  imaginative  and  the  reasoning 
powers  are  employed  in  the  two  cases  and  the  breadth 
of  relation  between  facts  which  the  teacher  attempts 
to  have  the  children  see.  The  imagination  in  primary 
grades  is  given  wings,  the  reason  toddles  along,  com- 
fortably enjoying  what  the  imagination  pictures.  This 
corresponds  to  the  mental  stage  of  development  in 
which  a  young  child  lives  and  thinks.  He  is  in  the 
stage  when  he  sees  things  more  as  particulars  and  as 
concrete  things.  Imagination  is  strong  with  him.  By 
wise  stimulation  of  this  activity,  interest  in  the  subject,  a 


xii  SUGGESTIONS    TO    PRIMARY    TEACHERS 

keen  sense  of  the  real  life  of  early  times,  and  the  desire 
for  larger  and  fuller  knowledge  of  the  whole  course  of 
man's  life  may  finally  be  secured. 

Now,  the  imagination  is  not  stimulated  by  general 
truths,  but  by  particulars.  So  as  a  rule  general  state- 
ments should  be  avoided  in  teaching  primary  history, 
and  much  attention  be  given  to  the  details  of  the 
everyday  life  of  these  primitive  men.  In  many  cases 
the  life  of  the  people  may  be  represented  concretely. 
The  characteristic  houses  may  be  dug  or  built  in  the 
school  yard  or  in  the  sand  table  by  the  children,  who  are 
pretending,  for  example,  that  they  are  primitive  Aryans. 
When  a  new  log  is  to  be  laid  on  the  house,  which  the 
Aryan  learned  to  make  in  the  agricultural  period,  two 
or  three  of  the  children  at  a  time  may  pretend  to  use 
great  exertion  in  lifting  it,  though  in  reality  it  may  be 
only  a  small  stick  easily  held  in  one  hand.  The  mortar 
for  the  cracks  between  the  logs  may  be  made  with  clay 
and  straw  and  the  crevices  between  the  logs  may  be 
filled  with  it.  The  children  should,  in  several  different 
lessons  at  different  times  during  the  year,  make  the 
characteristic  forms  of  primitive  pottery  and  place  on 
them  the  primitive  decorations.  There  should  be  a 
place  in  the  sand  table  where  the  pottery  is  burnt  in 
imagination.  A  bonfire  of  sticks  may  be  laid  around 
just  as  the  Aryans  built  their  open  ovens.  A  miniature 
closed  oven  may  be  made  later  in  the  year,  and  the 
wood  and  jars  placed  in  their  proper  positions.  When 
weaving  is  studied,  the  primitive  loom  should  be  con- 
structed and  the  children  allowed  to  weave  some  coarse 
cloth  out  of  heavy  yarn.  Spinning  may  be  performed, 
the  spindle  and  distaff  being  made  easily  by  the  teacher. 


SUGGESTIONS   TO   PRIMARY   TEACHERS         xiii 

Sometimes  it  is  possible  to  have  an  actual  object,  such 
as  the  early  Aryan  people  had,  in  the  room.  Birch 
branches  may  be  brought  in  for  the  children  to  exam- 
ine, draw  and  paint.  Beans  and  acorns  are  easily 
obtained.  Native  copper  and  arrowheads  may  be  ob- 
tained with  a  little  more  trouble.  When  it  is  impossible 
or  inadvisable  to  have  in  the  schoolroom  the  material 
things  such  as  the  primitive  people  used,  pictures  may 
be  used,  or  the  lessons  "  acted  out,"  e.g.  when  the  wheat 
is  to  be  thrashed  it  is  imagined  to  be  laid  on  the  floor, 
and  the  children  tramp  over  the  space,  occasionally 
pretending  to  throw  up  the  grain,  so  that  the  chaff  may 
be  blown  out  by  the  wind.  Then  they  go  through  the 
motions  of  collecting  it  in  sheepskin  bags,  or  in  jars, 
which  they  pretend  to  carry  with  them.  Or  they  may 
pretend  to  be  oxen  tramping  out  the  grain. 

It  will  not  be  possible,  probably,  for  the  class  to  have 
the  experience  of  fording  a  stream  in  their  imaginary 
migrations,  but  they  should  "pretend"  to  do  it,  select- 
ing a  shallow  place  in  the  river,  feeling  the  pebbles 
on  the  bottom  and  the  water  as  it  rises  higher  and 
higher,  and  exercising  great  care  not  to  step  off  in  deep 
water.  Experienced  teachers  will  see  that  the  work 
indicated  in  the  respective  grades  following  cannot 
be  completed  in  a  few  months.  Probably  more  than 
enough  for  a  single  grade  is  indicated  in  some  cases, 
for  schools  will  vary  both  as  to  length  and  facilities 
for  doing  the  work.  In  no  case  should  the  advance  be 
tedious  nor  should  the  points  be  worked  over  till  they  are 
threadbare ;  but  no  teaching  is  good  which  rushes  over 
points  which  pupils  do  not  clearly  see,  and  allows  careless, 
haphazard  work.     The  constant  aim  should  be  to  have 


xiv         SUGGESTIONS   TO    PRIMARY   TEACHERS 

the  children  dwell  on  the  details  of  the  life  of  whatever 
people  they  are  studying  till,  in  a  good  measure,  they 
come  to  see  and  feel  and  live  that  life  themselves.  It 
takes  both  time  and  careful  work  on  the  teacher's  part 
to  do  this.  Then,  too,  the  early  development  of  man- 
kind was  slow,  much  slower  than  can  be  represented 
by  the  life  of  one  man  and  his  sons,  as  that  of  Arya 
and  his  sons  as  worked  out  here  for  the  first  grade. 
The  working  out  of  many  details  will  aid  in  giving  the 
children  some  realization  of  this  length  of  time. 

All  the  material  presented  here  for  any  one  of  the 
grades  might  be  given  to  the  children  in  a  few  days, 
but  they  would  get  very  little  value  from  such  work. 
Indeed,  it  is  not  intended  that  the  stories  and  narra- 
tives here  presented  be  read  to  the  children  word  for 
word  in  the  primary  grades,  or  that  they  should  be 
told  in  just  the  form  here  given.  It  is  only  meant  to 
present  illustrative  and  suggestive  material  for  intro- 
ducing the  teacher  and  pupil  to  the  great  facts  and 
actors  in  human  history,  which  they  may  clothe  with 
the  details  of  their  natural  surroundings  and  come  to 
know  intimately.  The  particular  material  here  pre- 
sented should  not  be  allowed  to  hinder  the  teacher's 
own  originality  in  matter  or  method  or  the  spontaneity 
of  the  recitation.  It  is  of  course  always  very  impor- 
tant that  historical  facts  rather  than  pretty  fancies  be 
given.  But  too  much  emphasis  cannot  be  given  to 
the  truth  that  no  body  of  facts  taught  will  be  valuable 
work  in  history  till  they  are  seen  and  felt  and  lived  by 
the  children  in  some  reasonable  measure  as  they  oc- 
curred in  the  life  of  the  people  being  studied. 


School   History 

FOR 

Graded   and   District   Schools 


FIRST-GRADE   WORK 

Ye  whose  hearts  are  fresh  and  simple, 
Who  have  faith  in  God  and  Nature, 
Who  believe  that  in  all  ages 
Every  human  heart  is  human, 
That  in  even  savage  bosoms 
There  are  longings,  yearnings,  strivings 
For  the  good  they  comprehend  not, 
That  the  feeble  hands  and  helpless, 
Groping  blindly  in  the  darkness, 
Touch  God's  right  hand  in  that  darkness 
And  are  lifted  up  and  strengthened :  — 
Listen  to  this  simple  story. 

Longfellow.  —  The  Song  of  Hiawatha. 

The  aim  of  the  first-grade  work  in  history,  as  here  presented,  is 
to  help  the  pupil  to  live  in  imagination  the  life  of  the  Aryan  race 
when  it  was  making  its  first  steps  toward  civilization ;  that  is,  while 
it  was  passing  from  the  life  of  a  nomadic  people  along  the  Volga  on 
the  steppes  of  southeastern  Russia  to  a  more  settled  life,  learning 
its  first  lessons  in  the  art  of  agriculture.  During  this  time,  according 
to  the  theory  now  most  generally  held,  the  western  branch  moved 
down  toward  the  Danube,  and  thence  spread  over  southern  and 
western  Europe  ;  the  eastern  moved  southeastward  and  finally  settled 
in  India  and  Persia.  In  order  to  make  this  life  seem  more  real  to 
the  children,  the  following  sketch  is  presented,  in  which  the  early 
Aryan  stage  of  culture  is  embodied  in  particular  persons  and  inci- 
dents, as  nearly  in  accordance  with  historical  truth  as  the  somewhat 
meager  facts  known  of  early  Aryan  life  renders  possible.  The  boy, 
Arya,  is  taken  in  southeastern  Russia  as  the  type  of  the  primitive 
Aryan  people  before  they  separated  into  the  seven  great  branches  of 
Aryans  (Hindoos,  Persians,  Greeks,  Romans,  Celts,  Teutons,  Slavs). 
He  is  the  center  of  life  throughout  the  nomadic  period,  when  the 
Aryans  were  living  (probably)  on  the  steppes  of  Russia,  depending 

3 


4  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

maiaiy  for*  their  water  upon  the  river  Volga.  The  life  here  is  very 
simple,  with  little  or  no  division  into  distinct  institutions,  and  with 
no  well-defined  national  characteristics.  A  diversity  of  possibilities 
is  hinted  at  in  the  sketch  in  the  different  traits  of  character  of  the 
sons  of  Arya  (see  author's  "  Outline  of  History  for  Graded  and 
District  Schools,"  Ginn  &  Co.).  But  not  until  Arya's  death  do  the 
different  characteristics  of  the  sons  become  so  antagonistic  as  to 
prevent  them  from  living  together.  Then  the  sons  separate  into  two 
groups,  the  Asiatic,  led  by  Indus  and  Parsa,  travel  southeastward 
toward  India,  and  the  European,  led  by  Hellenus,  Latinus,  Celta, 
Teuto  and  Slava,  spread  over  southern,  central  and  western  Europe. 
These  sons  establish  separate  house  communities,  each  exhibiting 
the  dominant  characteristic  of  its  head.  Thus  they  are  intended  to 
prefigure  to  a  degree  the  different  nationalities  which  developed  later 
into  the  great  Aryan  peoples,  —  Hindoos,  Persians,  Greeks,  Romans, 
Celts,  Teutons  and  Slavs.  We  follow  their  life  as  they  change 
slowly  from  nomads  into  primitive  farmers,  and  before  we  leave 
them  they  have  advanced  well  into  the  agricultural  stage  of  life. 
The  story,  given  largely  in  outline,  is  intended  to  be  expanded  and 
illustrated  by  many  details  which  will  suggest  themselves  to  the  live 
teacher. 


ARYA   AND    HIS    SEVEN    SONS 

Although  we  do  not  believe  in  riding  on  the  backs 
of  fairies,  as  people  long  ago  did,  and  we  have  no  magic 
wand  to  help  us  to  get  to  far-away  lands  and  far-away 
times  when  old  people  and  young,  too,  played  and  acted 
in  many  ways  much  like  children,  yet  our  imagination 
will  take  us  to  the  land  of  Long  Ago,  where  we  may 
see  our  forefathers  —  the  Aryans  —  as  they  lived  their 
simple,  daily  lives ;  and  there  for  a  time  we  will  live 
and  work  and  play  and  struggle  with  them.  Perhaps 
thus  we  may  be  able  to  feel  something  of  what  they 
have  done  for  us  in  gaining  a  little  control  and  under- 
standing of  nature,  which  to  them  seemed  so  savage, 
and  which,  as  they  thought,  often  grew  angry  with  them 
and  tried  to  hurt  them ;  but  which  we  now  know  never 
gets  angry,  but  gives  us  the  storm,  the  wind,  the  snow 
and  the  sunshine,  that  the  world  may  be  all  the  more 
beautiful  and  rich  with  fruit,  and  grain,  and  flower.1 

Now  we  are  to  imagine  that  we  are  really  living  in 
that  far-off  misty  time.  As  far  as  the  eye  can  see  on 
all  sides,  stretches  a  beautiful  grass-covered  plain.  Near 
us  flows  a  broad,  shallow  river,  with  gentle  murmur, 

1 A  good  device  to  use  here  in  developing  the  idea  of  far-away  time  in 
the  pupil's  mind  is  a  journey  backward  through  time,  noticing  great  events 
of  history  as  the  journey  is  made.  See  Jane  Andrews.  — Ten  Boys  on  the 
Road  from  Long  Ago  to  Now. 

5 


6  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

southward.  Its  banks  are  concealed  by  graceful  willow 
trees  that  grow  even  to  the  water's  edge,  while  tall  reeds 
grow  far. out  into  the  river.  We  are  able  to  trace  the 
course  of  the  river  far  into  the  distance,  both  north  and 
south,  by  the  shining  silver  birch  trees  which  rise  one  by 
one  among  the  willows.  These  willows  and  birches,  so 
close  to  the  river,  are  the  only  trees  in  sight.  The  sun 
is  low  in  the  west.  The  hush  of  solitude  is  all  around, 
except  that  afar  off  we  hear  the  mournful  cooing  of  a 
solitary  dove.  Suddenly  from  out  the  west  come  lowing 
cattle  toward  the  stream.  Now  all  of  them  disappear 
down  one  of  the  narrow  and  deep  gullies  that  cut  the 
plain,  but  which  make  no  apparent  break  in  the  level 
expanse  of  grass  as  one  looks  over  the  vast  prairie. 
Up  they  come  again,  making  straight  for  the  river. 
We  watch  them  as  they  push  their  way  through  the 
willows  and  reeds  and  take  deep  draughts  from  the 
quiet  stream.  So  intent  have  we  been  on  the  cattle 
that  we  are  startled  to  see  near  us  on  the  bank  a  wild- 
looking  man,  who  has  been  tending  and  following  the 
herd.  He  is  tall,  straight  and  strong,  with  bold,  fear- 
less eyes,  broad  chest  and  sinewy  arms.  His  skin  is 
fair.  His  light-brown  hair  falls  in  tangled  masses  to 
his  shoulders ;  his  clothing  consists  mainly  of  a  cow's 
hide  thrown  over  the  shoulders  and  gathered  in  at  the 
waist  by  a  girdle.  Shoes,  also  made  of  hide,  protect 
his  feet.  By  his  side  stands  a  huge  bull  dog,  atten- 
tively watching  the  cattle.  The  herdsman,  trusting  his 
cattle  for  the  moment  to  his  faithful  dog,  turns  slowly 
to  the  west.  The  great  sun  god  is  bestowing  his  part- 
ing blessing  on  the  earth;  his  beams  of  light  extend 
like  a  gentle  hand  over  stream  and  grassy  plain.     Peace 


ARYA   AND    HIS    SEVEN    SONS  7 

rests  over  all.  The  all-embracing  Sky-father  bends  his 
protecting  arch  of  blue  over  all  his  children.  The 
power,  peace  and  beauty  of  the  scene  strangely  stir 
the  feelings  of  this  child  of  nature,  and  his  heart  goes 
up  in  mute  thanksgiving  and  prayer  to  these,  his  gods. 
While  he  stands  thus,  the  dove  we  heard  in  the  distance 
gives  its  mournful  coo  close  at  hand.  He  grows  pale  as 
he  listens,  and  his  superstitious  anxiety  increases  as  the 
bird  flies  just  in  front  of  him ;  for  to  them  the  dove  is 
a  bird  of  ill  omen,  and  he  believes  that  when  one  flies 
across  his  path  it  is  sure  to  bring  him  bad  luck.  At 
this  moment  the  sun,  as  if  in  answer  to  his  prayer  and 
in  comforting  assurance  of  his  protection,  throws  across 
the  western  sky  a  glorious  band  of  light.  The  sturdy 
herdsman,  seeing  in  this  the  smiling  face  of  his  great 
sun  god,  turns  away  comforted,  feeling  that  surely  the 
gods  of  light  and  strength  are  stronger  than  those  of 
evil.  He  gives  a  loud  call  to  the  cattle,  the  great  know- 
ing dog  walks  intelligently  toward  them,  and  they  come 
slowly  and  reluctantly  from  the  water.  He  drives  them 
to  a  part  of  the  plain  where  the  grass  is  very  long  and 
green  and  leaves  them  there  in  charge  of  the  faithful 
dog.  He  then  makes  his  way  homeward.  Homeward  ? 
Yes.  But  there  is  no  house  that  we  can  see  as  we 
follow  him,  —  only  a  number  of  rude  wagons  placed 
end  to  end  so  as  to  form  a  large  circle,  in  the  center 
of  which  are  the  glowing  embers  from  a  great  open 
bonfire.  Men,  women  and  children,  dressed  much  like 
the  herdsman,  in  shaggy  skins  of  animals,  come  and  go 
in  their  work,  dressing  skins,  carrying  wood  for  the  fire, 
carrying  water,  milking,  crushing  wheat,  or  sit  on  the 
ground  idly  talking  or  watching.     Supper  is  being  pre- 


8  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

pared.  The  air  is  laden  with  odor  of  roast  beef.  Cir- 
cling around  the  fire  are  great  pieces  of  beef,  roasting 
on  the  ends  of  sticks  which  have  been  driven  slantwise 
into  the  ground.  Occasionally  flames  rise  from  the  em- 
bers or  the  burning  logs  and  burn  the  meat.  A  gray- 
headed  man,  dressed  in  better  clothing  than  the  others 
and  giving  orders  with  an  air  of  authority,  is  waited  on 
submissively  by  any  who  happen  to  come  near,  as  if  he 
were  the  ruler  or  chief.  Indeed  he  is.  He  is  known  as 
the  "  housemaster,"  and  his  word  is  absolute  law  to  every 
one  in  this  great  family  or  household,  which  numbers 
over  sixty  people.  Near  him,  at  his  right,  is  a  fine, 
brave-looking  man,  his  oldest  son,  who  will  succeed  him 
as  housemaster.  And  by  his  side  is  his  youngest  son,  a 
boy  about  ten  years  old,  the  strongest,  brightest  and 
bravest  little  fellow  in  the  whole  camp.  This  is  Arya. 
Arya  is  watching  his  mother  prepare  the  meal  for  his 
father,  and  he  smacks  his  lips  as  she  sprinkles  some 
dirty  coarse  salt  over  it ;  for  salt  is  so  scarce  and  they 
know  so  little  how  to  make  it,  that  it  is  the  greatest 
luxury  and  is  eaten  only  by  the  few  honored  ones  of  the 
family.  The  mother  tells  her  boy  of  the  dangers  the 
father  underwent  when  he  traded  some  fine  cattle  for  a 
small  skin  of  salt,  and  how  it  had  almost  cost  him  his 
life  because  of  the  treachery  of  one  of  the  traders. 
Then  the  mother  takes  out  from  under  some  hot  ashes, 
another  luxury,  which  only  the  chief  and  his  sons  can 
afford, — a  hard  wheaten  cake.  It  is  unleavened  and 
unsalted,  and  made  simply  by  baking  the  dough  made 
from  roughly  crushed  wheat  mixed  with  water.  These 
early  people  have  not  yet  learned  to  cultivate  the  land, 
and  wild  grain  is  very  scarce.     When  the  meal  is  pre 


ARYA   AND   HIS   SEVEN   SONS  9 

pared,  the  family  does  not  sit  down  to  a  table  with  a 
snowy  cloth  and  pretty  dishes,  as  we  at  home  do,  nor  do 
they  begin  the  meal  with  quiet  manners  or  thanks  to 
their  gods.  The  men  roughly  help  themselves  as  soon 
as  they  think  the  meat  sufficiently  roasted.  They  bite 
off  great  mouthfuls  which  they  swallow  with  little  chew- 
ing. The  women  and  children  look  on  while  the  men 
gorge  themselves.  Arya  looks  so  wistful  that  his  father 
cuts  off  smaller  pieces  with  a  huge  knife  of  stone  and 
gives  to  him  and  his  three  little  brothers.  The  mother 
and  sister  get  no  meat  at  all.  The  boys  snatch  their 
chunks  and  gnaw  on  them  savagely  much  like  the  men. 
Though  the  outside  is  browned  and  even  burned,  the 
inside  is  still  a  bright  red  and  almost  raw.  But  that 
does  not  matter.  Indeed,  when  wood  and  reeds  are 
scarce  or  water-soaked,  all  eat  their  meat  raw.  The 
women  who  have  been  milking  bring  milk  in  large  jars 
and  leathern  bottles.  The  men  raise  these  to  their 
mouths  and  drink  deep.  They  drink  and  eat  great 
quantities  of  food,  crack  the  bones  after  gnawing  the 
flesh  from  them,  suck  the  marrow  out  as  the  choicest 
morsel  of  meat  and  gorge  themselves  until  they  can 
eat  no  more.  The  women  and  children  must  eat  the 
scraps  that  are  left. 

So  supper  is  over  at  last.  There  are  no  beautiful 
finger-bowls  or  dainty  napkins ;  no  towels  for  the  face 
or  brushes  for  the  teeth ;  no  table  to  clear  or  dishes  to 
wash.  Not  very  particular  nor  very  cleanly  are  these 
early  Aryan  children  of  the  plains.  If  it  were  not  for 
the  exercise  in  which  they  engage,  and  the  abundance 
of  free  'and  wholesome  air  they  breathe,  the  dirt  in 
which  they  live  would  breed  disease.     But  they  are  a 


IO  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

healthy,  fine  race  of  people  of  whom  the  herdsman 
we  first  saw,  and  who  has  been  eating  as  ravenously  as 
the  rest,  is  a  noble  type. 

The  sun  sinks  now  below  the  horizon,  and  Night  covers 
all  with  a  mantle  of  darkness.  It  is  time  to  go  to  sleep. 
Most  of  the  family  lie  down  on  the  ground  with  no  cover- 
ing. They  watch  the  stars  as  they  come  out  one  by  one, 
thinking  that  the  Sky,  the  greatest  of  all  their  gods,  is 
opening  his  eyes  to  watch  over  the  world  through  the 
night.  Some,  more  tender  than  others,  wrap  themselves 
in  skins,  as  the  spring  nights  are  still  chilly.  Others, 
who  need  better  shelter,  among  whom  are  mothers 
with  little  babies,  creep  in  under  the  wagons.  The 
barking  of  the  dogs  does  not  disturb  them.  Even  the 
howl  of  the  wolves  does  not  awaken  them  unless  it 
be  near.  The  frogs  have  begun  their  nightly  lullaby. 
These  children  of  nature  fall  asleep,  trusting  to  the 
protection  of  the  Sky-father  until  the  Sun-god  lifts  up 
his  rosy  fingers  once  more  in  the  morning  to  bless  them. 
Rising  one  by  one,  they  give  themselves  a  long  yawn 
and  a  hearty  stretch  and  so  are  ready  for  breakfast  —  no 
combing  of  hair,  or  washing  of  face  and  hands,  or  brush- 
ing of  the  teeth,  or  putting  on  of  fresh  clothes.  They 
do  not  realize  that  they  are  dirty  and  untidy,  but  they 
do  appreciate  something  of  the  glory  and  beauty  of  the 
Dawn,  who  comes,  a  beautiful  god,  ever  fresh,  clean 
and  bright  to  welcome  them.  This  lesson  thus  held 
continually  before  them  by  nature  may  slowly  teach 
them  to  be  cleaner  and  purer.  Breakfast  is  much  like 
the  meal  we  have  already  seen.  They  are  in  no  great 
hurry  after  eating,  but,  one  by  one,  most  of  the  men 
go  to  look  after  the  cattle.     Arya  is  allowed  to  help 


ARYA   AND   HIS   SEVEN   SONS  II 

drive  the  great  herd  to  the  grassy  plain,  and  very  proud 
and  important  he  feels  as  he  strides  along  after  his 
father,  and  watches  the  great  dog  keep  the  stragglers 
from  going  astray. 

The  mother's  work,  like  that  of  all  the  women,  is  harder 
and  more  constant.  Women  in  this  far-away  time  are 
the  slaves  of  the  men.  They  do  all  the  heavy  work,  such 
as  carrying  water  and  wood,  making  and  keeping  up  the 
fire,  cooking,  milking,  skinning  and  dressing  slain  ani- 
mals, cleaning,  drying  and  tawing  the  hides,  making 
mantles,  shoes  and  bottles  from  the  leather,  spinning, 
weaving,  and  gathering  and  crushing  the  wild  grain  for 
bread ;  in  fact,  everything  which  requires  constant  toil. 

To-day,  Arya's  mother  has  planned  to  make  a  fine 
new  mantle  for  her  husband ;  for  in  the  fierce  fight  that 
he  and  the  other  men  had  with  the  wolves  only  a  few 
nights  before  to  keep  them  from  the  cattle,  his  sheep- 
skin mantle  was  torn  almost  to  pieces.  Though  summer 
is  coming,  the  new  garment  is  to  be  made  of  wool, 
for  neither  flax  nor  cotton  is  yet  known  to  these  early 
wanderers.  The  mother  walks  to  the  wagon,  takes  out 
a  great  armful  of  wool  and  looks  for  the  spindle  and  dis- 
taff. They  cannot  be  found ;  for  they  had  fallen  out  of 
the  wagon  one  day  unnoticed,  when  the  people  were 
moving  southward  on  the  river  for  better  pasture.  This 
will  delay  her  spinning,  for  new  tools  must  be  made. 
So  leaving  the  babies  in  charge  of  Arya's  sister,  a  girl 
eight  years  old,  she  goes  to  the  nearest  birch  tree,  breaks 
off  a  smooth  limb,  cuts  it  to  the  proper  length,  trims  off 
the  twigs,  splits  it  down  some  distance,  and  spreads  it 
apart  by  placing  a  wedge  or  stick  in  the  split,  so  that 
when  it  is  dry,  the  halves  will  remain  apart,  and  form  a 


12  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

fork  to  hold  the  wool.  This  is  the  distaff.  This  done, 
another  piece  of  the  limb  is  taken  and  shaped  to  taper  at 
each  end.  Near  each  end  a  small  notch  is  cut.  Then 
she  walks  a  long  distance  northward  to  a  clay  bed  she  saw 
as  the  family  passed  that  way  to  these  new  pasture  lands. 
Fortunately,  the  clay  is  moist.  She  pats  some  of  it 
around  the  stick  in  the  middle,  so  that  when  given  a 
twirl,  it  will  turn  round  and  round,  something  like  a  top, 
and  so  twist  the  thread  fastened  in  the  notch.  This  is 
the  spindle,  and  when  the  clay  is  dry  and  the  halves  of 
the  distaff  set,  the  spinning  machine  is  complete.  The 
next  day  is  begun  the  spinning  for  the  new  mantle. 
Tying  a  belt  of  sheepskin  around  her  waist,  she  sticks 
the  end  of  the  distaff  under  it,  slips  a  large  handful 
of  wool  from  the  roll  at  her  side  in  the  cleft,  and 
begins  to  twist  a  small  bit  of  it  around  and  around 
in  her  fingers  until  she  has  a  thread.  This  is  then 
tied  to  the  end  of  the  spindle,  to  which  she  gives  a 
swift  twirl.  It  pulls  down  the  woolen  thread,  which 
is  ever  growing  longer,  and  helps  to  twist  it.  The 
thread  grows  swiftly  under  the  skillful  hands  of  the 
woman,  and  the  spindle  soon  rests  upon  the  ground. 
It  is  quickly  picked  up,  the  thread  wound  around  and 
around  above  the  weight  and  fastened  securely  in  the 
notch.  Many  times  the  same  act  is  repeated,  until  the 
spindle  is  full  on  both  ends.  The  yarn  is  then  wound 
off  and  the  spindle  filled  again.  All  day  she  spins,  and 
day  after  day,  until  enough  yarn  is  made,  of  which  to 
weave  a  mantle. 

But  before  this  is  woven  into  the  long  straight  strip 
much  like  a  strip  of  carpet  which  is  to  form  the  principal 
article  of  clothing  for  her  husband,  her  duties  call  her  to 


ARYA  AND  HIS  SEVEN  SONS         13 

another  occupation.  Almost  all  the  pottery  belonging 
to  the  household  has  been  broken  in  fragments  by  the 
mad  rush  of  an  angry  bull  that  had  escaped  from  a 
herdsman  and  had  made  its  way  into  the  midst  of  the 
camp.  New  jars  must  be  made  at  once;  so  Arya's 
mother,  the  leader  among  the  women,  with  three  others, 
trudges  off  again  through  the  dewy  grass  to  the  clay  bed. 
They  talk  little  to  each  other  as  they  walk  and  later  as 
they  work,  for  in  fact  these  almost  slave  women  have 
but  little  to  talk  about.  But  their  few  words  are  aided 
by  smiles  and  frowns  and  movements  of  the  head,  arms 
and  body.  They  are  talking  of  their  work  for  the 
day.  Arya's  mother  explains  that  one  of  the  pieces  of 
pottery  she  will  make  will  be  a  large  one,  large  enough 
to  hold  enough  grain  to  make  the  housemaster  his 
favorite  wheaten  cakes,  and  one  which  they  may  take 
with  them  in  the  wagon  as  they  move  from  place  to 
place.  At  last  they  reach  the  level  stretch  of  barren 
clay  which  is  still  wet  from  recent  rains.  Select- 
ing a  place  where  the  clay  seems  particularly  fine 
and  free  from  sticks  and  stones,  they  kneel  upon  the 
ground  and  begin  at  once  to  dig  up  the  clay  with 
horn  and  bone  knives,  and  slowly  to  shape  their  clay 
jars.  They  must  be  very  careful  to  free  the  clay  from 
lumps  and  to  have  it  throughout  equally  smooth  and 
soft.  If  they  do  not,  the  jars  will  burst  while  burning. 
The  younger  women  are  content  to  shape  simple  ball- 
shaped  jugs  which  will  be  used  for  carrying  and  hold- 
ing water  or  milk.  But  Arya's  mother,  who  is  very 
skillful,  makes  her  large  jar  with  an  artistic  outward 
flare  from  the  neck.  With  a  small  round  bone  she 
makes  it  beautiful  with  slant  parallel  lines  by  pressing 


14  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

the  bone  lengthwise  into  the  stiff  moist  clay,  and  with 
the  round  end  of  a  small  stick  she  has  brought,  adds 
rows  and  groups  of  dots.  You  see  even  in  this  earliest 
time  people  began  to  try  to  make  beautiful  things  as 
well  as  those  which  were  useful.  Then  she  places  her 
jar  where  later  the  fire  will  be  made  for  burning  it,  and 
afterward  helps  the  other  women  to  form  their  pieces 
more  regularly  and  beautifully.  After  this  is  done, 
she  continues  with  her  own  work,  shaping  with  firm 
skillful  fingers  water  jugs  and  pots. 

Many  hours  do  these  busy  women  work  until  a  number 
of  variously  shaped  vessels  are  drying  in  the  clear  air 
and  warm  sun.  Then  they  rise  rather  stiffly,  and  look 
anxiously  about  the  sky  for  signs  of  rain.  For  if  rain 
should  come  before  the  pottery  is  ready  for  use,  the 
day's  work  will  be  lost.  The  Sky-father  is  kind  to  his 
children  this  time,  and  wears  a  smiling  face.  When  the 
pottery  has  dried  sufficiently  the  women  carry  sticks, 
bound  in  great  bundles,  on  their  backs  to  the  place  of 
burning.  Last  of  all  is  brought  a  jar  in  which,  care- 
fully protected  by  ashes,  are  some  live  coals  from  the 
household  fire,  for  this  was  thousands  of  years  before 
there  were  any  matches.  The  fuel  is  laid  around  the 
circle  of  jars  some  little  distance  away  and  is  then 
lighted.  The  fire  is  attended  to  with  great  care;  for 
should  it  die  down  in  places  or  the  heat  within  in  any 
way  become  irregular,  or  should  a  burning  stick  fall 
inward  on  the  jars,  the  result  would  be  ruin.  When  the 
fire  is  burning  steadily,  it  is  left  in  care  of  one  of  the 
women.  Day  and  night  for  four  days  it  is  watched  and 
fed,  and  is  then  allowed  to  die  down  gradually.  When 
thoroughly  cooled,  the  jars  are  anxiously  examined  by 


ARYA   AND   HIS   SEVEN   SONS  1 5 

the  women.  Some  of  them  are  cracked  throughout,  and 
the  sides  fall  apart  when  moved.  Some  have  warped  so 
in  the  burning  that  they  are  useless.  Others  are  badly 
smoked.  But  there  are  left  others  in  which  the  women 
take  much  pride.  Arya's  mother  loses  not  a  single 
piece,  and  her  work  is  much  admired.  To  them,  per- 
haps the  dots  and  lines  on  the  jar  seemed  as  beautiful 
as  a  beautiful  plate  or  a  beautiful  piece  of  Royal 
Worcester  does  to  us. 

Day  by  day  do  the  women  of  the  household  work; 
day  by  day  do  the  men  watch  the  cattle  and  protect 
them  from  wolves.  Day  by  day  do  the  little  children 
play  on  the  plains,  imitating  their  elders,  learning  to  do 
their  work  and  learning  to  worship  the  Sun,  Sky,  Storm 
and  other  gods  of  nature.  And  we  day  by  day  will 
work  and  play  with  them  as  we  go  on  studying  about 
them,  and  learn  with  them  the  lesson  of  their  slow  and 
painful  struggle  for  a  little  happier  and  better  life  than 
that  of  wandering  herdsmen. 

Note  to  Teachers.  —  Let  the  children  live  thus  with  the  Aryans, 
seeing  them  in  the  natural  environment  in  which  they  were  placed, 
following  them  in  their  occupations,  solving  their  problems,  feeling 
their  joys  and  sorrows  ;  above  all  appreciating  the  sense  of  progress 
which  they  slowly  made,  and  the  joy  of  victory  over  nature,  which 
they  felt  as  they  slowly  conquered  it  and  made  it  serve  them.  As 
the  life  on  the  plains  is  typified  by  Arya,  and  as  children  think 
concretely  rather  than  in  generals,  let  the  incidents  and  changes  of 
the  nomadic  period  center  around  him.  He  develops  from  a  child 
into  a  brave,  venturesome  boy;  at  nineteen  he  captures  a  wife. 
Soon  he  has  a  large  family  of  boys  and  girls  to  whom  the  interest 
of  the  children  may  be  gradually  transferred  and  who,  in  the  agri- 
cultural period,  become  the  centers  of  interest.  He,  at  forty-five 
by  the  death  of  his  father  becomes  the  housemaster.  The  environ- 
ment of  the  Aryans  gradually  changes  during  their  enforced  prog- 


1 6  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

ress  southward,  bringing  into  their  life  new  elements,  unheard-of 
hardships  and  dissension.  The  firm  rule  of  Arya  keeps  the  house- 
hold united  until,  in  old  age,  he  is  killed  in  a  conflict  with  a  neigh- 
boring household.  These  and  the  later  developments  in  their  life 
are  not  worked  out  here  for  want  of  space.  The  facts  concerning 
the  plants,  animals,  soil,  climate,  and  so  forth,  with  which  the  early 
Aryans  were  surrounded,  together  with  an  outline  further  developing 
the  life  of  "  Arya'1  and  Arya's  sons  and  their  households,  are  given 
in  the  author's  work,  "An  Outline  of  History  for  Graded  and  District 
Schools,1'  a  work  supplementary  to  this  one  published  by  Ginn  & 
Co.,  Boston.  From  this  Outline,  the  teacher  may  select  additional 
material  which  may  fit  her  special  needs  and  the  condition  of  the 
school  in  which  she  teaches. 

References 

Schroeder  and  Jevons :  Prehistoric  Antiquities  of  the  Aryan 
Peoples ;  Griffin  &  Co.,  London.  This  book  was  taken  as  the 
chief  authority  on  most  questions  of  primitive  Aryan  life.  It  is 
written  for  the  mature  student,  not  for  children. 

Jane  Andrews :  Ten  Boys  on  the  Road  from  Long  Ago  to 
Now  ;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston.  The  theory  presented  in  the  first  story 
in  this  book  of  the  Asiatic  origin  of  the  Aryan  Race  is  not  the  one 
now  most  generally  supported  by  scholars,  but  the  general  spirit  of 
the  stories  will  be  found  to  be  very  helpful  to  the  beginning  teacher. 

Butterworth  :  The  Development  of  Industrial  Art ;  Govt.  Print- 
ing Office,  Washington.  This  gives  excellent  illustrations  of  such 
articles  as  the  plow,  wagon,  harrow,  loom,  etc.,  in  their  different 
stages  of  development  from  the  extremely  primitive  to  the  modern  form. 

Clodd :  The  Childhood  of  the  World ;  Humbolt  Library  Pub., 
N.Y. 

Tylor:  Primitive  Culture;  Holt  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

Starr:  First  Steps  in  Human  Progress;  Jennings  &  Pye,  Cin- 
cinnati. 

Lubbock  :  Prehistoric  Times  ;  Appleton  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

Mason  :  Woman's  Share  in  Primitive  Culture ;  Appleton  &  Co., 
N.Y. 

Keary:  The  Dawn  of  History;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 

Kemp:  Outline  of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools; 
Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 


SECOND-GRADE   WORK 

The  aim  of  the  second-grade  work  is  first  to  give  pupils  glimpses 
of  some  of  the  most  characteristic  features  of  the  countries  and  peoples 
living  in  the  two  great  Oriental  river  valleys  —  the  Nile  and  the 
Tigro-Euphrates  ;  and  second,  something  of  the  life  of  the  Jews  and 
the  Phoenicians  lying  between  these  two  valleys.  The  Phoenicians 
and  Jews  stood,  as  it  were,  yoking  the  two  river-valley  civilizations 
together.  The  narrow  strip  of  land  fringing  the  eastern  extremity 
of  the  Mediterranean  was  favorably  situated  for  spreading  the  East- 
ern civilization  westward  around  the  borders  of  the  sea.  This  was 
the  chief  mission  of  the  Phoenician  civilization. 

The  material  which  follows  for  this  grade  is  intended  merely  as 
suggestive  threads  for  the  teacher.  She  will  herself  come  into 
touch  with  the  life  and  spirit  of  the  people,  and  help  pupils  to  do  so 
much  more  successfully,  by  the  careful  and  continuous  use  of  one 
or  more  of  the  reference  books  given  at  the  end  of  each  story. 


i7 


HOW   KUFU    LIVED   AMONG   THE   OLD 
EGYPTIANS 

Many,  many  years  before  the  Christ  Child  was  born, 
there  lived  in  far-away  Egypt  a  little  boy  named  Kufu. 

The  country  in  which  he  lived  lies  far  to  the  east  of 
us,  and  consists  only  of  a  long,  narrow  valley  shut  in 
by  high  cliffs  of  white  limestone.  At  its  greatest  width 
it  is  about  thirty  miles,  a  distance  which  one  could 
travel  by  horseback  from  morning  until  noon,  but  one 
would  have  to  travel  all  day  from  sunrise  to  sunset  on 
a  very  fast  train,  to  go  over  its  entire  length,  which  is 
five  hundred  and  seventy  miles.  Toward  the  south  the 
valley  gradually  grows  narrower,  and  oftentimes  at  the 
narrowest  places  it  is  only  a  mile  or  so  wide. 

Through  the  center  of  this  narrow  valley  winds  the 
famous  river,  Nile.  Along  its  banks  great  patches  of 
tall,  slender  papyrus  reeds  lift  their  feathery  heads  full 
ten  feet  above  the  water,  and  from  its  bosom  spring  the 
beautiful  red,  blue  and  pink  cups  of  the  lotus  plant, 
surrounded  by  its  umbrella-like  leaves. 

On  either  side  of  the  Nile  the  country  in  the  valley 
spreads  out  like  a  summer  garden  —  always  fresh  and 
green.  In  this  country  no  one  has  ever  seen  a  snow- 
flake,  or  watched  the  great  banks  of  clouds,  or  often 
heard  the  raindrops  fall ;  for  there  are  no  clouds,  and  it 
seldom  rains  and  never  snows.     It  is  always  summer. 

18 


HOW   KUFU   LIVED  19 

But  you  will  ask,  "  How  can  it  always  be  so  fresh  and 
green  without  rain  or  snow  ?  "  I  will  tell  you.  Every 
year  the  Nile  gets  so  full  that  it  runs  over  its  banks, 
spreading  out  over  the  valley.  When  it  goes  back,  in 
September,  it  leaves  a  rich  mud  or  loam,  and  in  this 
loam  the  Egyptians  raise  abundant  crops. 

But  what  causes  the  Nile  to  act  in  this  strange  man- 
ner ?  For  many  years  it  was  a  great  mystery.  Now 
we  know  that  away  to  the  south,  in  the  high  mountains 
where  the  Nile  begins,  it  rains  very  much  at  one  time 
of  the  year,  and  the  little  streams  rush  down  into 
the  Nile,  bringing  with  them  rich  loam  from  the  moun- 
tain sides.  The  good  Nile  carries  it  to  the  eager  people, 
spreads  it  over  their  narrow  valley,  sinks  back  into  its 
bed  again,  and  seems  to  smile  kindly  upon  the  people 
as  they  sow  and  reap  enormous  crops.  The  Ancient 
Egyptians  did  not  know  this.  They  believed  in  many 
gods,  and  to  them  it  seemed  that  their  great  god  Osiris 
lived  in  the  Nile  and  ruled  over  it,  and  that  it  was  from 
him  that  their  abundance  came. 

Sometimes,  however,  away  to  the  south  not  much 
water  falls.  Then  the  Nile  overflows  but  a  short  dis- 
tance from  the  banks,  and  famine  is  sure  to  follow.  To 
the  ancient  people  this  meant  that  Osiris  was  angry  with 
them,  and  many  were  the  sacrifices  offered  to  appease 
him. 

Shut  in  as  they  were  by  the  blue  Mediterranean  on 
the  north,  by  the  great  desert  which  lay  beyond  the 
high  cliffs  on  either  side,  and  by  the  rocks  and  water- 
falls of  the  Nile  on  the  south,  the  Egyptians  had  little 
to  do  with  the  outside  world  for  a  long  time,  and  con- 
sequently did  not  become,  until  they  were  a  very  old 


20  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

nation,  either  great  warriors  or  traders.  But  they  did 
become  great  in  other  ways,  and  by  hearing  the  life  of 
Kufu  you  may  find  out  something  of  what  they  were. 

You  will  be  interested  in  hearing  of  Kufu,  for  he  was 
the  son  of  a  king,  and  lived  in  the  ancient  time.  It 
meant  much  to  be  son  of  a  king  in  olden  time  when 
only  the  sons  of  kings,  nobles  and  warriors  had  any 
chance  to  obtain  an  education  or  in  any  way  rise  in  the 
world.  The  ancient  Egyptians  thought  that  their  king 
was  a  child  of  a  god,  and,  after  his  death,  would  become 
a  god.  They  regarded  him  as  half  divine,  and  were 
willing  that  he  should  own  Egypt  and  give  the  land  to 
them  as  he  saw  fit.  The  peasants  worked  the  farms, 
giving  what  was  raised  to  the  king  and  accepting  back 
from  him  any  compensation  that  he  offered.  The  prop- 
erty, time  and  labor  of  the  Egyptian  were  at  the  dis- 
posal of  his  king. 

One  year  when  the  Nile  had  been  very  full  and  the 
busy  season  was  at  its  height,  Kufu  went  with  his 
father's  scribe  to  visit  the  farms  in  order  to  take 
account  of  the  amount  of  wheat,  barley,  and  millet 
raised  and  to  watch  the  peasants  at  their  work. 

Let  us  follow  them  on  this  trip.  They  sail  away  in 
a  little  boat  made  of  the  strong  reeds  of  the  papyrus, 
down  the  Nile  and  then  up  the  canals  to  the  farms. 
The  hot  sun  is  far  to  the  south,  so  the  trip  is  pleasant, 
and  Manetho,  the  scribe,  rows  among  the  tall  reeds  and 
hunts  birds  with  the  throw-stick,  while  Kufu  gathers  the 
beautiful  lotus,  for  he  loves  it  as  dearly  as  you  do  the 
roses. 

His  visits  at  the  farms  are  very  pleasant.  He  rides 
on  the  backs  of  the  donkeys  over  the  great  high  banks 


HOW   KUFU   LIVED  21 

of  dirt  called  dikes.  These  dikes  are  the  great  road- 
ways between  the  cities  during  the  time  of  floods. 

On  the  hillsides,  out  near  the  cliffs,  are  many  fields 
which  the  Nile  does  not  reach  even  though  there  is  a 
great  overflow.  To  water  these,  the  peasants  lead  the  Nile 
in  many  small  ditches  to  the  hillside.  Then  up  the 
hillside  they  dig  rows  of  wells,  somewhat  resembling  the 
steps  of  stairs  or  terraces.  Small  canals  lead  the  water 
from  the  last  wells  on  top  of  the  hill  to  all  parts  of  the 
field.  To  take  the  water  up  the  hillside,  two  tall  posts 
are  set  up  on  opposite  sides  of  each  well,  and  on  top  of 
these  a  horizontal  bar  is  laid  and  fastened.  On  the 
middle  of  this  bar  a  long  tough  pole  is  balanced.  One 
end  of  the  pole  has  a  heavy  lump  of  clay  fastened  to  it, 
while  to  the  end  that  hangs  over  the  well  is  fastened 
a  long  three-cornered  bucket,  by  means  of  a  strong 
hemp  cord.  All  this  arrangement  for  drawing  water  is 
much  like  the  "well-sweep"  and  "old  oaken  bucket" 
which  our  fathers  and  grandfathers  used  to  draw  water 
when  they  were  children. 

You  may  draw  a  picture  of  a  hillside  with  the  wells 
and  well-sweeps,  and  we  will  also  work  out  a  picture 
of  the  wells  in  the  sand.  Kufu  loves  to  stand  in  the 
cool  shade  of  the  palms  and  watch  the  peasants  draw 
the  bucket  from  the  lower  well  and  empty  it  into  the 
next  higher.  How  the  pole  creaks  on  the  bar  in  tune 
with  the  peasants'  drowsy  singsong !  Kufu  thinks  that 
it  is  a  pretty  song  even  though  it  has  not  much  tune. 
They  sing  it  as  they  slowly  and  lazily  lower  the  bucket 
and  draw  it  up  with  sparkling  water. 

Everywhere  in  the  fields  are  peasants  planting  and 
harvesting.     Some  are  plowing  the  tough  loam  with  a 


22  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

rude  plow  made  of  a  bent  stick,  while  others  are 
breaking  the  clods  with  short  wooden  hoes.  The  hoe- 
blade  and  handle  are  the  same  length,  about  two  feet. 
The  blade  is  narrow  and  spoon-shaped  with  a  groove  in 
its  sides  around  which  a  strong  rope  is  fastened.  With 
this  rope,  the  blade  may  be  brought  closer  to  the  handle. 

We  see  no  harrows  or  steel  plows  such  as  we  have 
to-day,  and  the  grain  that  is  being  sown,  we  call  wheat, 
barley,  or  millet,  but  they  call  it  corn. 

Kufu  loves  to  drive  the  sheep  around  in  circles  over 
the  fields,  thus  tramping  the  newly  sown  grain  into  the 
soil.  When  the  grain  is  ripe,  he  watches  the  reapers 
cut  it  with  rude  sickles,  and  then  rides  the  laden  don- 
keys to  the  threshing  floor  to  see  it  threshed.  Kufu 
has  never  heard  the  whistle  or  puff  of  the  engine,  or  the 
hum  of  the  threshing  machine  when  at  work,  but  he 
enjoys  the  harvest  greatly.  He  helps  the  peasants 
comb  the  corn ;  that  is,  he  pulls  the  heads  from  the 
stalks  by  means  of  a  comb  which  is  something  like  our 
bootjack  —  the  teeth  of  the  comb  corresponding  to  the 
groove  in  which  the  boot  fits.  The  wheat  is  then  spread 
out  over  the  circular  threshing  floor,  and  the  donkeys 
driven  over  it.  Sometimes  a  donkey  gets  stubborn. 
Then  Kufu  laughs  because  the  peasant  must  pull  him 
around. 

After  the  corn  is  cleaned  by  throwing  it  up  so  the 
wind  can  blow  the  chaff  away,  it  is  taken  to  the  great 
grain  barns  or  granaries  which  have  been  built  by  the 
slaves  out  of  brick,  and  kept  and  used  as  it  is  needed. 
Far  away  to  the  east  the  people  came  to  Egypt  for 
corn  in  time  of  famine.  You  remember  Joseph's  breth- 
ren came  from  Canaan  to  Egypt  for  corn,  and  in  this 


HOW   KUFU   LIVED  23 

way  Joseph  found  his  father  whom  he  had  not  seen  for 
many  years. 

Vacation  is  over  with  the  harvest,  and  Kufu  returns 
home  with  Manetho,  just  in  time  to  enter  school. 

For  a  large  part  of  the  year  he  attended  the  school 
which  was  conducted  in  his  father's  palace.  Here  were 
assembled  boys  from  all  over  Egypt  who  wanted  to 
become  scribes.  They  wished  to  read  in  order  to  learn 
the  words  of  the  gods,  to  write  that  they  might  record 
the  king's  deeds,  and  to  count  and  measure  that  they 
might  keep  the  king's  accounts,  and  measure  off  his 
lands;  for  when  the  Nile  overflowed,  it  often  washed 
the  landmarks  away,  —  new  marks  must  then  be  made. 
The  scribe  received  a  higher  education  than  any  one  in 
Egypt  excepting,  of  course,  the  one  who  was  to  be  king. 

Kufu's  teacher  was  very  strict,  but  Kufu  did  not 
object.  The  boys  all  worked  diligently,  for  they  feared 
that  the  god  Thoth  would  become  angry  and  keep  them 
from  learning,  if  they  were  idle. 

Their  copy-books  were  rolls  of  paper  made  from  the 
pith  of  the  papyrus  reed,  which  was  four  or  five  inches 
in  diameter.  Kufu  made  his  own  paper.  He  cut  the 
pith  into  long  thin  slices,  then  placed  them  side  by  side. 
Crosswise  on  top  of  these  he  placed  other  slices, 
moistened  them  with  Nile  water,  and  pressed  them  until 
they  were  dry.  He  then  trimmed  the  edges,  polished 
the  paper,  and  made  it  into  rolls. 

The  boys  spent  much  time  in  learning  to  draw.  In 
writing  they  used  pictures  instead  of  signs  to  express 
their  ideas.  Later  they  cpmbined  pictures  just  as  we 
do  letters,  to  make  words. 

Kufu,  since  he  is  to  become  the  king,  has  many  more 


24  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

things  to  learn  than  the  other  boys,  and  he  must  go  to 
the  temple  to  receive  part  of  his  education.  The  king 
is  the  high  priest  of  Egypt.  He  alone,  as  they  think, 
is  a  child  of  a  god ;  he  alone  can  talk  with  the  gods ; 
he  alone  can  worship  in  the  Holy  of  Holies,  the  inner- 
most room  of  the  temple.  So  Kufu  must  learn  to  offer 
sacrifices,  to  lead  processions,  and  to  chant  long  prayers. 

Let  us  notice  the  temple  to  which  Kufu  goes.  It  is 
meant  to  resemble  the  world,  and  to  honor  their  greatest 
god,  Osiris.  The  Egyptians  had  a  peculiar  view  re- 
garding the  world ;  yet  it  is  not  strange  that  they 
should  have  had  it.  They  thought  that  the  world  was 
flat,  that  it  was  longer  than  wide,  that  great,  tall  pillars 
held  it  up,  and  that  the  sky,  like  a  great  iron  bowl, 
covered  it.  Notice  the  ways  in  which  they  sought  to 
make  their  temple  resemble  the  world.  It  generally 
faced  the  river's  edge,  but  stood  back  some  distance 
from  it.  It  was  surrounded  by  a  high  and  thick  stone 
wall.  It  consisted  of  alternate  rooms  and  courts,  con- 
nected by  a  hallway  and  large  gateways  or  pylons. 
The  rooms  were  one  story  high  and  covered  by  a  flat 
roof.  The  stones  of  which  the  temple  was  built  were 
very  large  and  heavy.  They  make  us  think  that  the 
Egyptians  meant  that  the  temple  should  last  forever. 

About  the  temple,  but  within  the  outer  walls,  were 
pretty  flower  gardens,  ponds  filled  with  the  beautiful 
lotus  and  tall  papyrus,  gardens  with  vegetables,  and 
great  yards  of  geese,  birds,  and  fine  cattle.  These 
things  were  raised  to  be  used  when  offering  sacrifices  to 
the  god  of  the  temple.  4 

Leading  from  the  river's  edge  up  to  the  gateway  of 
the  temple  was  a  smoothly  paved  walk.     On  both  sides 


HOW   KUFU   LIVED  25 

of  it  were  rows  of  sphinxes,  —  stone  figures  with  the 
body  of  a  lion  and  a  human  face.  It  is  thought  they 
signified  protection.  The  walk  was  called  the  avenue 
of  sphinxes.  It  was  bordered  on  both  sides  with  rows 
of  palm  trees. 

The  tall  solid  stone  doorway,  or  pylon,  of  the  temple 
was  sixty  feet  high,  about  as  high  as  one  of  our  tele- 
graph poles.  On  each  side  of  it  were  two  broad,  thick 
stone  towers,  higher  than  the  pylon  and  used  sometimes 
as  observatories.  In  front  of  the  pylon  were  two 
obelisks,  or  shafts  of  stone,  rising  from  a  small  square 
base  to  a  point  one  hundred  feet  high.  They  were 
much  like  the  Cleopatra's  Needle  in  Central  Park,  New 
York;  or  the  Washington  Monument  at  Washington 
City.  On  the  four  highly  polished  faces  of  the  obelisks 
were  carved  pictures  of  the  king  performing  wonderful 
deeds. 

The  most  wonderful  part  of  the  temple  was  the 
great  hypostyle  hall,  —  that  is,  a  hall  having  a  large 
ceiling  resting  upon  many  rows  of  great  columns. 
These  columns  were  almost  as  high  as  the  great 
pylons  in  front  of  the  temple,  and  were  so  thick  that 
three  little  boys,  hand  in  hand,  could  not  reach  around 
them.  They  were  twelve  feet  in  circumference.  The 
capitals  or  tops  of  some  of  the  columns  spread  out  like 
great  inverted  bells;  others  were  like  the  birds,  or 
flowers  of  the  beautiful  lotos.  The  capitals  alone  were 
twice  as  long  as  you  are  high  and  were  wider  than  the 
tall  shafts  on  which  they  rested.  The  base,  or  bottom, 
of  the  column  curved  inward  like  a  great  bulb,  and  beau- 
tiful green  leaves  bordered  it.  The  whole  column  was 
colored  bright  yellow,  red,  and  green. 


26  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

Over  the  surface  of  the  huge  stone  columns  were 
carved  pictures.  They  showed  the  king  and  his  court, 
the  scribes  at  work,  farmers  sowing  and  reaping,  and 
slaves  building.  Like  great  story-books,  they  told  of 
the  life  of  the  people  living  at  that  time ;  and  the  way 
we  know  something  about  how  the  Egyptians  lived  in 
that  far-away  time  is,  that  great  scholars  have  learned 
to  read  these  pictures,  just  as  we  read  books. 

Early  each  morning  and  late  each  evening  the  long 
slant  rays  of  the  sun  stole  down  from  the  small  window 
gratings  of  the  temple  far  up  near  the  ceiling  and 
reached  out  to  the  farthest  corner  of  the  room.  They 
lit  up  the  columns,  catching  and  reflecting  their  brilliant 
colors.  To  one  standing  in  the  center  aisle  and  gazing 
off  into  the  forest  of  stone,  softened  by  the  mellow  light 
in  which  there  was  more  yellow  than  any  other  color,  the 
sight  presented  was  almost  inconceivable  in  its  beauty. 

To  this  temple  Kufu  came  every  day  to  offer  upon 
the  stone  table-like  altars,  sacrifices  of  flowers,  geese, 
birds,  fruits,  or  cattle.  He  chanted  long  prayers,  joined 
in  the  processions  and  served  in  one  room  after  another, 
gradually  passing  farther  into  the  temple  ;  but  not  until 
he  became  king  did  he  enter  the  most  sacred  room,  the 
Holy  of  Holies. 

On  great  holidays  the  processions  were  long  and 
grand,  —  the  King,  priests,  musicians  and  dancers 
leading  thousands  of  the  common  people  through  the 
streets  and  temples,  and  to  the  altars  which  stood  on  the 
banks  of  the  Nile.  How  thankful  they  must  have  been 
to  Isis  and  Osiris  for  making  the  Nile  rise  and  refresh 
their  gardens  and  fields  !  I  must  briefly  tell  you  about 
"The  Welcome  to  the   Nile,"  a  great   procession  and 


HOW   KUFU   LIVED  27 

sacrifice  by  which  the  people  worshiped  Isis  and 
Osiris :  — 

A  long  line  of  priests,  dressed  in  white,  led  by  one 
with  a  leopard  skin  over  his  shoulders,  approached  the 
stream.  Behind  came  a  group  of  servants,  some  carry- 
ing baskets  of  the  choicest  fruits  and  grain,  others  lead- 
ing a  young  white  bullock  partly  covered  with  a  rich 
cloth  of  red,  its  horns  trimmed  with  flowers  and  gold. 

On  either  side  of  the  bullock  singers  and  young  girl- 
dancers  kept  time  to  the  music  of  flutes,  trumpets  and 
drums,  while  the  entire  procession  chanted  songs  to  Isis, 
"  The  tears  of  Isis  !  the  tears  of  Isis  !  Bringer  of  rich 
harvests  and  gifts  of  the  gods  ! " 

The  Nile  being  reached,  prayers  were  offered  to 
Osiris  and  Isis.  The  fruits  and  grains  were  cast  into 
the  roaring  flood,  and  the  priest  wearing  the  leopard  skin, 
drew  his  sacred  knife  and  mingled  the  bullock's  blood 
with  the  roaring  waters. 

The  procession  then  returned  to  the  temple,  the  canal 
gates  were  opened,  the  banks  were  cut,  and  the  waters 
flowed  over  all  the  lowlands.  For  several  weeks  the 
lower  country  was  one  vast  sea  of  water.  In  and  near 
the  cities  the  time  was  spent  in  feasting  and  gladness. 
"  Osiris,  the  river  god,  is  over  the  land,"  said  the  priests, 
"  and  since  he  gives  such  rich  harvests,  we  must  serve 
him  with  gladness,  or  he  will  not  give  his  blessings 
again." 

When  the  water  had  reached  its  highest  mark,  the 
priests  again  offered  gifts  to  Osiris,  and  the  waters 
began  to  fall. 

The  Egyptians  were  the  first  to  think  much  about  and 
believe  one  of  the  greatest  of  truths.     They  believed 


28  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

that  there  is  life  after  death ;  that  the  soul  never  dies. 
And  this,  it  is  said,  is  how  they  came  to  think  of  this 
great  truth.  Every  morning  they  looked  toward  the 
east  and  worshiped  the  great  fiery  sun-ball.  They  saw 
it  come  up  from  behind  the  desert,  the  Hidden  Land, 
and  thought  it  was  a  god.  They  had  the  following 
pretty  thought  about  it :  In  the  morning  the  young  sun 
is  the  pretty  child  Horus,  sailing  up  the  eastern  sky  in  a 
little  boat.  He  has  a  spear  with  which  he  will  kill  the 
monster  Darkness,  who  devoured  him  the  night  before. 
At  noon  he  is  the  strong  man,  Ra,  but  by  night  he  has 
grown  to  be  the  weak  old  man,  Atum.  Then  the  mon- 
ster Darkness  devours  him  again ;  but  Atum  wrestles 
with  the  monster  and  comes  to  life  again,  rising  the  next 
morning  as  the  beautiful  child,  Horus. 

But  their  idea  of  life  after  death  was  quite  different 
from  our  idea.  Kufu's  father  told  Kufu  that  just  as  the 
sun  returned  each  morning  to  live  again  in  its  old  form, 
although  seemingly  killed  the  night  before,  so  the  soul 
would  return  to  the  body  to  live  in  it  again,  after  having 
been  purified  in  the  Hidden  Land.  They  thought  it 
took  a  very  long  time,  —  three  thousand  years,  —  for  it 
to  be  purified  and  ready  to  come  back  to  earth. 

Because  of  this  belief,  the  Egyptians  sought  to  pre- 
serve the  body  until  the  return  of  the  soul.  They 
studied  the  effect  of  various  oils  and  spices  on  the  body 
and  worked  out  the  process  of  embalming,  that  is  pre- 
serving it,  which  is  used  to  some  extent,  even  to-day. 
The  embalmed  body,  as  prepared  for  burial  by  the 
ancient  Egyptians,  was  called  a  mummy.  Perhaps  some 
day  you  will  see  a  real  mummy.  If  you  ever  go  to 
Egypt,  that  is  one  thing  you  will  surely  see.     I  wonder 


HOW   KUFU   LIVED  29 

if  these  ancient  embalmers  by  studying  the  body  so 
closely  discovered  any  of  the  facts  about  medicine  that 
are  known  by  the  doctors  of  to-day. 

This  belief  in  immortality  led  the  Egyptians  to  make 
statues.  They  feared  that  in  some  way  the  mummy 
might  be  destroyed,  and  the  soul,  returning,  would  have 
no  form  in  which  to  live ;  so  those  Egyptians  that  could 
afford  it  had  statues  of  themselves  made  from  stone. 
The  statues  were  called  "  doubles."  It  was  the  belief  of 
the  people  that  the  soul  would  enter  into  and  dwell  in 
the  double  if  it  were  unable  to  find  the  mummy.  The 
effort  of  the  sculptor  was  to  make  the  statue  look  exactly 
like  the  person ;  otherwise  the  soul  would  fail  to  recog- 
nize it.  Now  the  truest  and  greatest  artist,  when  he 
carves  statues  or  paints  pictures,  tries  to  make  the  thing 
he  paints  or  carves  a  little  more  perfect  than  the  real 
thing  represented.  Because  the  Egyptian  artist  did  not 
do  this,  people  have  not  so  much  cared  for  the  art  of  the 
Egyptian  as  for  that  of  the  Greeks.  If  you  look  at 
the  pictures  of  Egyptian  statues,  they  will  often  look 
large  and  stiff;  the  Greek  statues,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  smaller,  but  much  more  graceful. 

However,  this  same  belief  that  the  soul  would  come 
back  to  the  earth  and  want  its  body  again,  led  the  Egyp- 
tians to  do  things  so  great  that  the  world  has  marveled 
at  them  ever  since.  They  built  tombs  in  which  to  keep 
their  mummies  and  doubles.  Since  the  kings  were  to 
become  gods,  the  possibility  that  their  souls  might  wan- 
der forever  without  bodies,  was  a  horrible  thought  to  the 
Egyptians.  So,  for  miles  up  and  down  the  banks  of 
the  Nile,  they  built  immense  tombs  for  them,  which  cost 
years  of  toil  and  great  sums  of  money. 


30  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

That  you  may  better  understand  the  grandeur  of  an 
Egyptian  king's  tomb,  let  us  notice  the  one  that  Kufu 
built  for  himself  when  he  became  king. 

Above  his  city  and  to  the  east  were  low  hills  of  sand- 
covered  rocks.  One  of  these  rocks  the  wind  had  blown 
bare.  Kufu  selected  this  hill  as  the  place  for  his  tomb, 
for  it  was  high,  dry,  quiet  and  peaceful.  All  around 
was  the  wide,  quiet  desert 

Kufu  had  a  good  architect,  and  to  him  he  gave  one 
hundred  thousand  slaves,  —  more  slaves  than  there  are 
people  in  many  of  our  cities.  They  made  level  a  space 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  feet  square.  It  was  large  enough 
to  cover  thirteen  acres  of  ground.  Great  blocks  of  lime- 
stone were  hewn  out  by  the  slaves  and  brought  from  the 
high  cliffs.  The  blocks  were  thirty  feet  long,  or  half  as 
long  as  the  columns  of  the  temple,  and  as  thick  as  one  of 
you  boys  is  tall,  or  about  four  feet  thick.  They  cut  these 
stones  and  shaped  and  fitted  them  perfectly  on  the  thir- 
teen-acre  square,  entirely  covering  it.  On  top  of  this 
layer  they  put  another  one  a  little  smaller,  thus  leaving 
a  step  on  the  first  layer  that  extended  entirely  around 
the  square.  Layer  after  layer  was  laid  in  this  manner, 
until  the  top,  which  was  just  a  few  feet  square,  was  laid. 
The  top  was  a  square  of  thirty  feet ;  we  can  mark  that 
off  in  the  schoolhouse  yard. 

But  this  was  not  a  solid  pile  of  stone.  Large  halls 
about  four  feet  high  by  three  feet  wide  were  left  in 
it  as  it  was  built.  Some  led  down  into  rooms  cut  out 
of  the  rock  of  the  hill;  others  into  small  rooms,  one 
of  which  was  to  receive  the  body  of  Kufu.  A  num- 
ber of  rooms  were  made,  although  but  one  was  needed, 
in  order  to  confuse  persons  attempting  to  steal  away 


HOW   KUFU   LIVED  3 1 

the  jewelry  and  the  like  which  was  buried  with  the 
king. 

After  Kufu's  death  they  placed  his  body  in  one  of  the 
rooms  and  filled  up  the  small  hall  leading  to  it  with 
granite  blocks.  Then  the  large  steps  that  had  been  left 
on  the  sides  of  the  pyramid  were  filled  with  blocks  of 
stone,  cut  so  as  to  fit  neatly  into  and  fill  them.  Thin 
slabs  of  highly  polished  stone  were  then  cemented  over 
the  four  faces  of  the  pyramid,  making  it  look  like  a 
great  solid  rock.  Its  four  faces  sloped  to  a  point  four 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  high. 

Thirty  years  were  required  in  building  this  huge  tomb. 
Think  of  the  time,  money,  labor  and  lives  that  were 
given  up  in  order  that  the  king's  body  might  be  pre- 
served !  But  in  that  day  they  did  not  think  as  much  of 
the  comfort  and  rights  of  the  common  people  as  we  do 
now.  If  it  took  a  million  lives  to  build  one  king's  tomb, 
they  thought  it  was  worth  it. 

Many  years  after  Kufu  was  dead,  Arabs  came  from 
the  east  and  stripped  off  the  outer  casings  and  fillings 
of  the  four  sides,  leaving  them  bare.  Hundreds  of 
people  go  to  Egypt  every  year  to  see  the  Great  Pyra- 
mid and  climb  its  steep  steps.  Would  you  like  to  take 
an  imaginary  climb  ?  Three  little  Arabs  will  help  you. 
One  is  at  your  back  pushing,  while  two  stand  on  the 
steps  above  and  pull.  Do  not  look  down,  or  to  the 
right  or  left.  If  you  do,  you  will  become  dizzy,  and 
run  great  risk  of  falling  and  being  dashed  to  pieces. 

At  last  you  are  on  the  top.  As  you  look  about,  you 
see  many  other  pyramids  like  this  one,  standing  on  the 
silent  desert,  and  many  temples  scattered  up  and  down 
the  banks  of  the  Nile.     You  see  a  large  sandy  desert 


32  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

cut  by  a  strip  of  green  country,  in  which  are  farmers 
and  herders,  brick-makers  and  builders.  The  Nile,  like 
a  large  kite,  lies  with  its  silvery  ribbed  head  toward  the 
north  and  its  tail  winding  far  southward  through  a  green 
meadowland. 

In  taking  this  last  view  of  Kufu's  strange  country,  it 
is  interesting  to  remember  that  these  people  who  lived 
so  long  ago,  gave  to  the  world  many  ideas  which  have 
never  died,  but  which  have  grown  ever  better  and  con- 
tinued to  help  the  world  ever  since.  The  Egyptians  gave 
the  world  in  its  youthtime  its  first  lessons  in  writing,  in 
paper  making,  in  building,  in  carving  statues,  in  meas- 
uring, and  more  than  any  other  people  of  the  olden 
time,  taught  the  belief  that  the  soul  never  dies. 

References 

Erman  :  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt ;  Macmillan  Co.,  N.Y. 

Wilkinson :  The  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians ; 

3  vols. ;  Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Maspero  :  The  Dawn  of  Civilization  ;  Appleton  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Rawlinson  :  Ancient  Egypt ;  2  vols. ;  Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Clodd :  The  Childhood  of  the  World  ;   Humbolt  Library  Pub.,  N.Y. 
Myers  and  Allen  :  Ancient  History  ;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Keary  :  The  Dawn  of  History ;  Scribner  &  Sons,  N.Y. 
Kemp  :  Outlines  of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools ;  Ginn 

&  Co.,  Boston. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  PEOPLE  WHO  FIRST 
TAUGHT  MEN  TO  BELIEVE  IN  ONE 
GOD 

In  ancient  times,  in  a  country  far  to  the  east  of  Egypt, 
there  was  a  city  named  Ur.  This  city  was  located  in 
the  rich  valley  of  the  Euphrates  River.  The  word  Ur 
is  said  to  mean  light,  or  fire,  and  it  is  thought  by  some 
that  the  city  was  called  by  that  name  because  the 
people  who  lived  in  it  worshiped  the  sun.  They  also 
worshiped  idols  made  of  stone  and  wood. 

About  the  time  that  King  Kufu  was  building  the 
Great  Pyramid  in  Egypt,  there  lived  in  Ur  a  man 
named  Terah,  a  maker  of  idols.  He  had  a  son  named 
Abraham. 

Abraham  thought  that  it  was  wrong  to  bow  down  to 
and  worship  things  of  stone  and  wood  made  by  his 
father's  slaves.  A  very  old  history  book  tells  this  story 
of  Abraham  when  he  was  yet  a  boy :  "  One  day  his  father 
went  away  and  left  him  to  take  care  of  the  shop.  An 
old  woman  came  in  with  food  for  the  idols.  After  she 
was  gone  Abraham  took  a  hammer,  and  after  breaking 
all  the  idols  but  the  largest,  put  the  hammer  into  its 
hands.  When  his  father  came  home  he  was  angry  and 
asked  what  wretch  had  broken  his  idols.  Abraham 
told  him  that  the  big  one  broke  all  the  others  because 
they  were  greedy. 

33 


34  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

His  father  said,  "  You  know  that  they  neither  eat  nor 
move." 

"  And  yet,"  said  the  boy,  "  you  would  worship  them 
and  have  me  do  likewise." 

In  his  rage  his  father  sent  him  to  Nimrod,  the  king  of 
Ur,  to  be  punished.  The  king  told  him  to  worship  fire 
if  he  did  not  want  to  worship  his  father's  idols. 

Then  Abraham  said,  "  Why  not  worship  water,  which 
will  put  out  fire,  or  the  clouds  which  hold  the  water,  or 
the  wind  which  drives  the  clouds  ?  " 

The  king  replied,  "  Pray  then  to  the  water,  the  clouds 
and  the  wind." 

But  again  Abraham  answered,  "  Be  not  angry,  O 
king ;  I  cannot  pray  to  any  of  these  things,  but  to  the 
God  who  made  them  all." 

Abraham  persuaded  several  persons  to  believe  as  he 
did ;  and  finally,  wishing  to  worship  the  true  God  in  a 
better  way,  he  gathered  together  his  family,  slaves, 
herds  and  flocks,  and  traveled  toward  the  west  up  the 
fine,  rich  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  and  then  over  the 
hills,  the  deserts  and  the  sandy  plains,  into  a  strange 
country,  just  east  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  where  they 
wandered  about  for  some  time  with  no  fixed  home, 
living  on  the  products  of  their  herds. 

Abraham,  as  the  father  of  the  tribe,  commanded  that 
wherever  they  stopped,  an  altar  should  be  erected  and 
prayers  and  sacrifices  offered  to  the  one  true  God. 
Although  they  wandered  about  for  years,  the  wisest 
of  them  never  ceased  to  worship  the  one  God. 

Thus  they  pastured  their  flocks,  lived  in  tents  and 
increased  in  numbers ;  so  that  when  Abraham  died  he 
was  affectionately  called  the  father  of  his  people,  —  the 


WHAT   THE   HEBREWS   TAUGHT   THE   WORLD       35 

Hebrews,  or  Jews,  —  through  whom  the  belief  in  one 
God  has  spread  over  a  great  part  of  the  world. 

After  the  death  of  Abraham  the  Hebrews  continued 
to  prosper  by  raising  great  herds  of  sheep,  cattle  and 
goats.  But  once,  when  it  did  not  rain  for  a  long  time 
and  the  crops  failed  and  a  famine  came,  many  of  them 
left  their  own  land  and  went  down  into  the  country  of 
Egypt  to  live.  At  first  the  Egyptians  were  kind  to 
them  and  taught  them  a  great  deal,  for,  as  you  know, 
the  Egyptians  were,  at  this  time,  the  wisest  people  in 
the  world;  but  later  the  king  came  to  fear  that  the 
Hebrews  would  not  be  faithful  subjects,  so  he  made 
slaves  of  them  and  treated  them  very  cruelly. 

After  they  had  been  in  Egypt  for  several  hundred 
years,  a  great  leader  grew  up  among  them.  This  was 
Moses.  In  the  Bible  you  will  find  the  story  of  his 
birth  and  education;  and  of  how,  in  spite  of  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  king,  he  led  the  Hebrews  out  of  Egypt,  and 
through  the  sands  and  deserts  of  the  wilderness,  back 
eastward  and  northward  to  the  country  where  Abraham 
and  his  kindred  had  lived  hundreds  of  years  before. 

The  land  to  which  they  came  was  called  Canaan, 
which  means  lowlands.  It  lies  on  the  low  coast  at  the 
eastern  extremity  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  it  was 
inhabited  by  the  Canaanites.  The  Hebrews,  after  much 
fierce  fighting,  conquered  these  people,  took  their  lands 
from  them,  and  built  upon  it  a  little  nation.  Long  after 
this  the  country  was  called  the  Holy  Land,  and  also 
Palestine. 

Palestine  was  only  a  small  country.  By  walking  ten 
miles  a  day,  you  could  have  walked  its  length  in  fifteen 
days  and  across  it  in  five  days.     It  was  not  far  from  the 


36  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

size  of  New  Jersey.  To  the  west  of  it  was  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea  ;  it  was  separated  from  Phoenicia  on  the 
north  by  the  Lebanon  Mountains,  and  to  the  south  and 
east  lay  mountains  and  vast  sandy  deserts. 

It  was  itself  a  very  hilly  and  mountainous  country. 
The  rows  of  mountains  and  valleys  that  cut  it  up  into 
little  fields  and  uplands  made  many  separate  places  of 
settlement  for  the  people,  and  this  did  not  make  it  very 
easy  for  them  to  live  close  together  and  to  become  well 
acquainted  with  one  another.  So,  for  many  hundreds 
of  years,  the  people  lived  in  separate  groups,  called 
tribes,  each  tribe  having  its  own  leader  or  "judge"; 
and  although  all  the  Hebrews,  at  about  a  thousand  years 
before  Christ,  did  live  for  a  short  time  under  just  one 
ruler,  called  a  king,  yet  partly  because  the  country  was  so 
rough  and  divided  into  broken*  sections,  the  people  broke 
up  again  into  parts,  and  could  not  live  for  any  great 
while  in  one  union  as  we  do  in  America.  Do  you  think 
when  they  were  thus  broken  into  divisions  it  would  be 
easier  for  surrounding  peoples  to  conquer  them  ? 

The  Jordan  River  also  tended  to  divide  the  people. 
It  rose  in  the  northern  highlands  and  flowed  toward  the 
south,  through  deep  gorges,  cutting  Palestine  into  two 
parts  —  an  eastern  and  a  western.  At  one  place  it 
spread  out,  forming  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  and  at  another 
the  Dead  Sea.  In  all  the  length  of  the  Jordan,  there 
were  but  three  places  where  it  could  be  easily  crossed ; 
and  on  account  of  the  falls  and  rocks  in  it,  ships  could 
not  sail  up  it  and  float  down  with  its  current,  as  they 
could  in  Kufu's  country  on  the  gently  flowing  Nile. 
This  tended  to  keep  the  people  from  being  under  one 
king  as  much  as  they  were  in  Egypt,  or  as  was  the  case 


WHAT   THE   HEBREWS   TAUGHT   THE   WORLD       37 

in  the  great  nations  which  grew  up  in  the  Tigro- 
Euphrates  Valley. 

In  Palestine,  too,  on  account  of  the  high  mountains 
and  low  valleys  there  were  many  different  kinds  of  cli- 
mate, and  hence  many  different  kinds  of  vegetation  and 
animals.  On  the  tops  of  the  mountains,  where  it  was 
cold,  there  was  very  little  vegetation  and  often  fierce 
animals;  in  the  southern  part  it  was  warm  and  the 
vegetation  and  grains  were  abundant ;  while  in  the  val- 
leys of  the  Jordan  and  Dead  Sea  it  was  hot  and  the 
vegetation  luxuriant.  The  rainfall  was  abundant  and 
the  soil,  especially  in  the  valleys,  rich,  so  it  was  in  many 
ways  and  in  many  places  a  delightful  country  in  which 
to  live. 

Thus  you  see  there  were  many  things  which  kept 
the  people  from  easily  living  together  under  one  ruler ; 
but  yet,  as  I  told  you,  they  did  for  a  time  try  it,  so 
let  us  now  think  that  many  years  have  passed  since 
the  Hebrews  entered  Palestine  in  disconnected  tribes. 
They  have  become  a  nation  of  considerable  wealth, 
live  many  of  them  in  cities  as  well  as  the  country, 
and  have  for  their  ruler  the  wise  King  Solomon. 

How  changed  the  country  is  from  the  time  when  the 
Jews  lived  in  tents  and  pastured  their  flocks  and  herds ! 
Look  at  the  farms,  orchards  and  vineyards  which  nes- 
tle in  the  valleys  and  blossom  on  the  hillsides ;  see  the 
broad  highways  and  narrow  roads  running  through  the 
country ;  see  the  towns  and  cities  to  which  the  country 
people  bring  their  products  and  come  to  trade ;  and 
away  to  the  south,  on  Mt.  Zion  and  Mt.  Moriah,  see 
Jerusalem  crowned  with  her  glistening  temple.  How 
different  all  this  is  from  the  time,  hundreds  of  years 


38  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

before,  when  there  were  no  roads  or  cities,  or  fields 
or  splendid  temple,  —  but  when  the  people  wandered 
about  as  shepherds,  living  in  tents  and  worshiping  at 
a  wooden  altar,  set  up  by  some  spring  or  well,  where 
they  came  to  water  their  flocks ! 

I  wish  now  to  tell  you  of  Palestine  as  it  was  at  this 
time.  If  I  should  begin  to  tell  you  of  that  which  the 
Jews  most  loved  and  thought  most  about,  I  should  tell 
you  of  their  religion  and  of  the  splendid  temple.  For 
as  I  have  already  said,  no  people  in  that  olden  time 
thought  so  much  or  so  well  on  religion  as  the  Jews ; 
and  no  people  ever  thought  more  of  the  place  in  which 
they  worshiped  than  the  Jews  thought  of  their  temple 
at  Jerusalem.  But  before  speaking  of  these  great  things, 
let  us  see  something  of  the  daily  life  of  the  people. 

Grazing  on  the  hillsides  were  flocks  of  sheep  and 
goats,  watched  over  by  shepherd  boys,  like  David,  and 
by  their  dogs.  The  boys  were  dressed  in  shirts  gath- 
ered in  around  the  waist  by  strong,  red  leather  belts. 
Hanging  from  the  belt  was  a  knife  and  bludgeon,  or  a 
short  oak  stick  with  one  end  heavier  and  thicker  than 
the  other  and  having  nails  driven  into  it.  With  this 
the  shepherds  protected  themselves  and  flocks  from 
fierce  animals.  They  also  carried  long  staffs  with 
crooks  on  the  ends,  with  which  they  caught  the  sheep 
and  goats  around  the  neck  and  drew  them  back  from 
dangerous  places.  At  night  the  shepherds,  assisted  by 
their  dogs,  drove  the  flocks  home,  counted,  them,  and 
shut  them  safely  in  pens  till  the  next  morning. 

In  the  valleys  were  fields  of  wheat,  barley  and  lentils, 
which  were  cultivated  and  reaped  by  both  men  and 
women.     The  harvest  began  about  the  first  of  April, 


WHAT   THE   HEBREWS  TAUGHT  THE  WORLD       39 

when  the  barley  was  cut,  then  the  lentils,  and  finally  the 
wheat.  During  the  harvest  time,  girls  brought  to  the 
fields  parched  corn,  water,  and  bread  dipped  in  vinegar 
as  food  for  the  busy  men  and  women.  The  women  and 
girls  also  helped  to  reap  the  grain  in  the  fields. 

On  some  of  the  hillsides  there  were  great  vineyards. 
The  hills  were  made  into  terraces  to  prevent  the  winter 
rain  from  washing  away  the  soil.  Little  towers  were 
built  in  the  center  of  the  vineyards,  in  which  watchmen 
stayed  and  kept  away  robbers. 

Here  and  there  in  the  vineyards  were  fig  trees,  having 
great  leaves  and  bearing  delicious  fruit.  The  hill  slopes 
were  often  covered  with  olive  orchards.  The  olive 
crop  was  among  the  last  of  the  fruits  to  be  gathered  in 
the  autumn;  when  they  were  ripe  they  were  shaken 
from  the  trees  in  October. 

From  the  grapes  the  Hebrews  made  raisins  and  wine ; 
the  olives  were  much  used  for  food,  and  from  them  olive 
oil  was  made,  which  was  used  instead  of  butter.     , 

In  its  best  days  Palestine  was  covered  over  by  a  net- 
work of  roads.  One  highway,  through  the  country, 
extended  from  Egypt  to  Babylon,  and  another  from 
Tyre  to  Damascus.  From  all  directions  there  were 
roads  leading  to  Jerusalem  which,  every  spring,  were 
put  in  good  order,  for  the  Jews  all  had  to  go  to  Jerusa- 
lem to  worship  in  the  great  temple  several  times  each 
year. 

Could  we  have  been  in  Palestine  and  seen  the  people 
from  all  parts  of  the  country  gathering  for  one  of  these 
festivals  at  Jerusalem,  we  would  have  seen  on  the  roads 
great  caravans,  consisting  of  camels,  donkeys  and  men ; 
rude  carts  drawn  by  oxen  laden  with  merchandise,  men, 


40  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

women  and  children  ;  and  many  also  of  the  poorer  class, 
on  foot,  making  their  way  to  the  holy  city  to  attend  the 
religious  festivals. 

In  approaching  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  the  first  thing 
one  would  have  seen  was  the  low  stone  wall  surround- 
ing it.  Outside  the  wall  the  carts,  camels  and  donkeys 
of  those  coming  to  trade,  were  left.  The  traders  also, 
who  remained  for  some  time,  pitched  their  tents  here. 
Around  the  city  there  was  another  wall,  which  was  very 
high  and  built  of  stone.  Between  the  walls  there  was 
a  deep  ditch  which  had  to  be  crossed  before  the  gate  in 
the  inner  wall  could  be  reached.  This  gate  was  very 
large,  made  of  iron,  and  fastened  with  bolts  and  bars. 
Just  above  the  gate  was  a  watch  tower,  in  which  was 
stationed  the  watchman  who  guarded  the  city  and  sur- 
rounding country.  They  took  great  care  that  no  enemy 
should  enter,  but  the  gate  was  always  open  to  visitors 
and  traders. 

Just  inside  the  gate  was  the  market  square.  Here 
the  country  people  brought  their  produce  from  the 
fields,  orchards  and  dairies.  Peddlers  from  Tyre  sold 
purple  linen,  tin,  and  musical  instruments ;  those  from 
Persia  sold  rugs,  vases  and  shawls ;  peddlers  from 
Egypt  sold  jewelry  and  papyrus,  carpets,  muslins  and 
engravings  on  stone ;  millet  and  dates  came  from  Baby- 
lon ;  spices  and  frankincense  from  Arabia.  The  ped- 
dlers advertised  their  wares  in  loud  voices,  and  the  scene 
at  the  market  place  was  one  of  noise  and  bustle. 

Narrow  streets  opened  off  from  the  market  square. 
They  were  very  straight,  and  some  were  paved ;  one 
street  was  so  narrow  that  it  was  called  the  "  Eye  of  a 
Needle."     When  Jesus  said,  "  It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to 


WHAT   THE    HEBREWS   TAUGHT   THE   WORLD       41 

go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a  rich  man  to 
enter  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,"  some  say  he  meant  this 
street,  for  it  was  so  narrow  that  a  camel  could  not  go 
through  with  even  one  sack  on  its  back.  The  streets 
were  dimly  lighted  by  lamps,  or  lanterns,  placed  in  the 
latticed  windows  of  the  houses.  These  lamps,  filled 
with  olive  oil,  burned  all  night,  and  watchmen  guarded 
the  streets  at  night  as  our  policemen  do. 

The  houses  were  very  close  together  and  of  all 
sizes  :  some  were  one,  some  two,  and  some  three,  stories 
high.  I  will  tell  you  of  one  of  the  best  of  these  houses 
and  of  the  life  of  a  family  who  dwelt  within  it.  It  was 
three  stories  high,  made  of  brick,  and  its  walls  were 
whitewashed.  A  broad  stairway  on  the  outside  of  the 
house  led  from  the  ground  to  the  roof,  which  was  flat 
and  surrounded  by  a  railing  three  feet  high.  There 
were  no  windows  in  the  side  of  the  house,  as  we  have, 
for  the  Hebrews  were  forbidden  to  look  into  a  neigh- 
bor's house;  but  one  could,  if  he  wished,  easily  step 
from  the  roof  of  one  house  to  the  roof  of  another. 

Upon  the  roof  there  was  a  room  reserved  for  guests, 
for  you  remember  that  Palestine  was  a  warm  country, 
except  on  the  mountains,  and  the  people  lived  much  on 
the  roofs  of  their  houses.  It  was  the  coolest  room  of 
the  house  and  most  convenient  for  guests,  since  they 
could  pass  in  and  out  without  disturbing  the  family. 

Upon  approaching  the  house  from  the  street,  nothing 
but  a  high  wall  could  be  seen.  Upon  coming  nearer,  a 
door  was  seen  below,  and  windows,  extending  out  from 
the  wall  a  short  distance,  were  above. 

By  raising  the  knocker  you  called  a  porter  to  the  gate, 
and  upon  entering,  found  yourself,  not  in  a  room  as  you 


42  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

expected,  but  in  a  beautiful  yard  or  court  in  which 
there  were  fountains,  climbing  vines,  and  beautiful 
flower  beds.  The  Hebrew  family,  of  which  I  am  going 
to  tell  you,  lived  here,  consisting  of  father,  mother  and 
two  children,  Judah  and  Ruth.  They  were  all  very 
dark  and  had  dark  hair  and  eyes.  The  father  wore 
a  beard,  of  which  he  was  very  proud. 

They  all  wore  long,  full  mantles,  or  tunics,  fastened 
at  the  waist  with  a  belt,  or  girdle.  The  mantles  were 
made  of  a  richly  embroidered  linen,  and  they  wore  a 
great  deal  of  jewelry  on  their  arms,  wrists,  fingers, 
necks  and  in  their  ears.  Their  sandals  —  soles  of 
shoes  fastened  with  linen  straps  —  were  removed  when- 
ever they  entered  the  house,  for  Hebrews  never  wore 
sandals  in  the  house  or  temple,  or  in  times  of  great 
trouble. 

Their  house  was  built  around  a  court  on  three  sides, 
and  the  halls,  rafters  and  lattice  of  the  windows  were 
made  of  beautifully  carved  wood.  It  was  furnished 
with  tables,  chairs,  couches,  rugs,  vases,  lamps  and 
candlesticks.  Many  of  these  things  were  as  beautiful 
as  the  most  beautiful  furniture  which  we  have  at  the 
present  time.  They  were  all  made  by  hand,  for  they 
had  no  immense  factories  filled  with  machinery  then  as 
we  have  now. 

The  lamps,  much  like  our  piano-lamps,  stood  on  stands. 
They  were  made  of  bronze,  and  looked  like  long,  low 
pitchers,  with  spouts  like  that  of  a  teapot.  They  had 
handles  on  one  side.  In  the  center  was  an  opening 
for  pouring  in  the  oil,  and  the  wick  passed  out  through 
the  spout.  The  light  was  kept  burning  constantly,  since 
in  that  day,  and  for  thousands  of  years  afterward,  they 


WHAT  THE   HEBREWS   TAUGHT   THE   WORLD       43 

had  no  matches,  and  when  they  allowed  the  fire  to  go 
out,  they  could  only  get  it  again  by  friction, —  that  is,  by 
rubbing  two  things,  like  sticks,  together  till  they  got  so 
hot  they  would  burn. 

In  the  kitchen  there  were  wooden  bowls,  odd-shaped 
pitchers,  called  kads,  which  were  carried  on  the  head, 
an  oven,  and  a  hand  mill  for  grinding  their  grain  into 
flour.  The  hand  mill  consisted  of  two  stones.  The 
lower  one  was  hollowed  out  and  the  top  one  set  into  it. 
Wheat  was  put  into  the  lower  one  and  ground  to  flour 
by  turning  the  top  one  round  and  round.  How  slow 
and  difficult  it  would  seem  to  us  if  we  had  to  obtain  all 
our  flour  by  grinding  by  hand  !  The  flour  was  made 
into  cakes,  and  the  cakes  were  baked  on  the  hot  stones 
in  the  oven. 

The  family  had  the  principal  meal  in  the  evening. 
In  the  dining  room  couches  and  divans,  made  of  beau- 
tiful wood  and  covered  with  rich  cloth,  were  placed 
before  low  tables.  Those  who  were  eating  reclined 
on  these,  resting  the  head  on  the  left  hand  and  eating 
with  the  right.  The  father  said  grace;  the  servants 
brought  bowls  of  water  that  they  might  wash  their 
fingers,  since  the  fingers  were  then  used  instead  of 
knives  and  forks.  While  musicians  played  upon  the 
harp,  they  conversed  and  dined.  They  ate  meat  cut 
in  fine  pieces,  cakes,  broth  and  fruit  of  many  kinds, 
as  grapes,  figs,  apples  and  dates.  Finally  wine  was 
served,  which  closed  the  meal.  After  the  meal  was 
finished  they  again  washed  their  fingers,  and  the  father 
offered  a  prayer  of  thanks. 

Ruth  did  not  attend  a  school  but  was  taught  by  her 
mother  the  necessary  things  about  housekeeping,  such 


44  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

as  how  to  grind  flour  on  the  mill,  cook,  spin,  weave  and 
sew.  Every  little  Hebrew  girl  was  trained  for  a  good 
housewife.  And  though  it  seems  wrong  to  us,  the  best 
of  the  Hebrew  men  often  had  two,  three,  or  more,  wives. 

Judah  was  sent  to  the  synagogue  to  learn  the  Jewish 
law,  and  both  Judah  and  Ruth  learned  passages  from 
the  books  written  by  the  wise  Hebrew  men,  and  the 
Ten  Commandments,  which  the  Jews  thought  even 
more  of  than  we  in  America  do  of  our  Constitution. 
Their  father  taught  them  by  having  them  repeat  over 
many  times  those  parts  of  the  wise  writing  which  taught 
them  to  believe  in  one  God.  Both  the  children  learned 
to  sing  and  to  dance,  so  that  they  could  assist  in  the 
worship  of  God  at  the  temple. 

Most  Hebrew  boys  were  taught  trades;  either  to  be 
farmers,  merchants,  carpenters,  wood-carvers,  or  scribes. 
Judah,  as  was  said  before,  was  one  of  the  few  who  went 
to  the  temple  to  learn  of  the  rabbi  to  read  and  write 
and  the  stories  of  the  great  men,  —  Abraham,  Isaac, 
Jacob,  Moses,  David  and  Solomon,  —  who  had  helped  to 
make  them  a  great  people.  No  other  people,  perhaps, 
of  the  olden  time  were  quite  so  proud  of  their  nation  as 
the  Hebrews ;  and  one  thing  Judah  and  his  classmates 
were  especially  taught  by  the  rabbis  was  the  great  things 
done  in  the  history  of  their  people.  To  make  them  true 
to  their  country  and  to  their  religion,  they  were  told 
how  the  Hebrews  passed  through  great  hardship  and 
struggle  in  forming  their  nation  and  keeping  pure  their 
faith  in  one  God ;  how  they  were  for  a  long  time  cap- 
tives in  Egypt,  but  escaped  from  slavery,  and  for  years 
wandered  northward  through  the  hot  and  sandy  desert, 
led  by  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  the  world  —  Moses, 


WHAT   THE   HEBREWS   TAUGHT   THE   WORLD       45 

their  great  captain  and  law-giver.  They  were  told  how, 
for  hundreds  of  years,  the  Hebrews  fought  with  the 
Canaanites,  finally  conquering  them  and  taking  Pales- 
tine for  their  own  land.  They  were  told  that  through  all 
these  wars  God  had  taken  special  care  of  them  and  had 
given  them  victory  over  their  enemies.  They  were 
taught,  in  fact,  that  they  were  the  Chosen  People  of 
God,  and  they  are  by  many  so  regarded  even  yet. 

Now  I  must  tell  you  that  the  history  of  these  struggles, 
the  laws  made  by  their  great  men,  the  proverbs  of  their 
wise  men,  the  poems  of  their  poets,  the  war  songs  of 
their  captains,  the  songs  of  rejoicing  in  victory  and  the 
lofty  prayers  and  sermons  by  their  great  prophets  were 
from  time  to  time  written  down  on  separate  pieces  of 
stone  or  on  wood  or  skins.  These  writings  were  read 
and  studied  by  the  boys  in  the  temples ;  and  it  was  about 
these  great  things  of  religion  and  not  arithmetic,  geog- 
raphy and  the  like  that  Judah  studied.  Nor  did  he  use 
the  same  kind  of  books  that  you  have,  for  their  books 
were  generally  written  on  parchment  made  of  sheepskin, 
and  were  called  "  scrolls."  The  parchment  was  fastened 
on  rollers  that  had  knobs  on  the  ends.  As  one  read  he 
gradually  unrolled  the  scroll,  as  we  do  a  map,  or  window- 
blind,  hung  on  rollers.  When  not  in  use,  the  scrolls 
were  rolled  up  and  put  away  in  cases  resembling  band- 
boxes. These  boxes  were  kept  with  great  care  in  a 
special  room  in  the  temple. 

Many  years  after  this  time  these  scrolls  were  gradually 
gathered  together  by  the  most  learned  of  the  Hebrews 
into  one  book,  —  the  Old  Testament  of  our  Bible, — 
and  I  suppose  you  can  think  of  no  other  one  book  in 
the  world  which  is  read  by  so  many  people  as  this  one, 


46  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

except  the  one  written  also  hundreds  of  years  after- 
ward by  writers  descended  from  the  Hebrews  and 
telling  about  the  life  of  Jesus,  who  also  lived  and  taught 
among  the  Hebrews,  founding  much  of  his  teaching  upon 
the  best  of  the  ideas  patiently  worked  out  by  them. 

The  learned  Hebrew  men  used  often  to  go  up  to  the 
temple,  and,  sitting  around  in  a  circle  on  the  floor,  with 
one  in  the  center  for  reader  or  talker,  they  read  and 
discussed  the  contents  of  these  books.  Judah  and  his 
classmates  often  sat  a  short  distance  away  and  listened. 
How  they  drank  in  every  word  telling  of  their  great 
heroes,  and  how  proud  they  were  of  their  people! 
Many  were  their  vows  to  be  as  brave  in  battle  and 
faithful  to  the  One  God  as  their  ancestors. 

The  Hebrews  worshiped  God,  not  only  in  their  temples 
but  in  their  homes.  Every  night  and  morning  Judah 
and  Ruth  prayed  to  God,  and  their  father  prayed  for 
his  children  and  blessed  them. 

The  Sabbath  day  they  gave  wholly  to  the  worship  of 
God,  and  were  so  very  strict  that  they  would  do  no  work 
whatever  upon  that  day.  It  began  on  Friday  evening 
and  lasted  until  sundown  on  Saturday.  Ruth  and  Judah 
always  had  the  house  decorated  with  flowers  and  the 
Sabbath  lamp  burning  brightly  and  the  table  spread 
with  their  choicest  food.  On  the  Sabbath  evening  the 
father  gave  his  children  a  special  blessing,  called  the 
blessing  of  Israel. 

Now  as  we  have  been  talking  about  Judah  and  Ruth, 
and  of  the  Jewish  people  among  whom  they  lived,  what 
does  it  seem  to  you  they  were  most  interested  in,  and 
what  did  they  spend  most  time  thinking  about  ?  They 
plowed    and    sowed    fields    and    reaped    them;    they 


WHAT  THE   HEBREWS   TAUGHT  THE  WORLD      47 

gathered  grapes  and  olives  ;  the  children  played  games 
much  as  children  do  now ;  they  elected  kings  as  we  do 
our  President ;  they  learned  to  read  and  write,  spin, 
weave  and  cook,  very  much  as  our  grandparents  had  to 
do  when  they  were  children;  and  did  many  other  just 
everyday  things  like  all  the  other  people  who  lived 
around  them  did. 

But  there  was  one  thing  they  were  more  earnest  about 
than  any  other,  and  that  was  to  teach  the  people  that 
there  is  but  one  God,  who  rules  the  sun  and  moon  and 
stars  and  ocean,  and  everything  in  the  world.  Most 
other  people  who  lived  at  the  time  of  the  Jews  believed 
there  were  many  hundreds  of  gods  and  goddesses,  one 
ruling  one  thing  and  one  another.  But  the  Jews  were 
so  earnest  to  keep  their  people  from  thinking  about 
more  than  one  god  that  they  would  not  allow  any  statue 
of  God  to  be  carved  and  set  up  in  their  temples  of  wor- 
ship, and  in  this  particular  they  were  very  different  from 
all  other  peoples  who  lived  at  their  time.  Because  they 
were  not  allowed  to  make  statues  of  God  they  did  not 
produce  beautiful  art  as,  for  example,  the  Greeks  did. 

It  was  because  they  thought  so  much  of  their  religion 
that  they  thought  so  much  of  their  beautiful  temple  at 
Jerusalem ;  and  this  I  must  now  briefly  tell  you  about. 

It  was  built  in  Jerusalem,  on  the  top  of  Mt.  Moriah, 
and  was  one  of  the  noblest  structures  ever  reared  by 
the  hand  of  man.  It  was  built  of  stone,  but  plates  of 
gold  were  so  arranged  on  the  outer  walls  that  the  whole 
temple  shone  most  beautifully  in  the  rays  of  the  sun. 

The  stone  of  which  it  was  built  was  hewn  from  the 
quarries  of  Phoenicia,  and  the  wood  was  cut  from  the 
cedars  of  Lebanon.     King  Hiram  of  Phoenicia  had  all 


48  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

the  stone  hewn  so  perfectly  in  the  quarries  that  when 
he  sent  them  to  King  Solomon  they  fitted  together  so 
snugly  and  well  that  it  is  said,  not  a  sound  of  a  hammer 
was  heard  in  re-shaping  the  stones  during  the  entire 
seven  years  of  the  building  of  the  temple. 

When  completed  it  was  not  very  large ;  often  the 
heathen  temples  were  much  larger,  and  many  of  our 
Christian  churches  of  the  present  time  are  two,  three, 
and  even  six,  times  as  large  as  it  was,  but,  as  I  have 
already  said,  in  all  the  world  there  has  not  been  another 
more  richly  built  or  finely  finished,  and  certainly  none 
which  did  so  much  in  early  times  to  teach  the  people 
true  ideas  about  God. 

It  was  surrounded  by  a  court,  which  was  inclosed  by 
a  high  wall.  It  was  about  two  hundred  feet  high,  was 
covered  by  a  flat  roof,  like  their  private  dwellings,  faced 
the  rising  sun,  as  did  all  their  temples,  and  had  a  broad 
porch,  with  large  columns,  extending  across  the  front. 

The  temple  was  divided  into  two  rooms,  one  just  back 
of  the  other.  The  inside  of  the  walls,  the  ceiling  and 
the  floor  were  overlaid  with  sheets  of  gold.  The  doors, 
hung  on  golden  hinges,  were  richly  carved  with  beauti- 
ful figures,  and  these  in  turn  were  ornamented  with 
precious  stones  and  the  finest  gold. 

The  first  room  in  entering  the  temple,  called  the  Holy 
Place,  contained  the  golden  altar  where  incense  was 
burned  and  sent  forth  its  sweet  perfume  throughout  the 
entire  temple.  On  one  side  of  the  altar  stood  a  golden 
candlestick,  and  on  the  other  side  the  table  for  shew- 
bread.  The  candlestick  had  six  branches,  and  in  each 
branch  were  three  lamps  in  which  olive  oil  was  kept 
continually   burning.     The   table   was    made    of   cedar 


WHAT  THE   HEBREWS  TAUGHT   THE   WORLD       49 

wood  covered  with  gold,  and  had  on  it  wine  and  twelve 
loaves  of  bread.  The  wine  and  bread  were  used  in 
worship,  somewhat  as  they  are  used  in  religious  worship 
in  churches  nowadays. 

The  second  room,  just  back  of  the  first,  was  smaller 
and  square  in  shape.  It  was  called  the  Holy  of  Holies. 
You  remember  the  Egyptians  had  such  a  room  in  their 
temple.  No  one  but  the  High  Priest  could  enter  this 
room,  and  he  could  enter  but  once  a  year.  Before  the 
Holy  of  Holies  hung  beautiful  white  linen  curtains 
interwoven  with  blue,  purple  and  scarlet  of  the  richest 
hue.  In  the  Holy  of  Holies  were  kept  those  things 
which  made  the  Jews  think  of  the  great  deeds  and  the 
great  men  of  their  nation,  and  the  protection  and  mercy 
which  God  had  given  them  through  their  long  history ; 
these  were  first,  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  second, 
the  Mercy-seat,  and  third,  two  statues  of  angels,  called 
Cherubim. 

The  Ark  was  a  chest  of  wood  about  the  size  of  a  large 
trunk,  and  was  covered  outside  and  inside  with  gold.  It 
stood  on  four  feet  and  had  rings  at  the  comers  to  slip 
poles  through  ;  for  at  first,  when  the  Jews  were  very  war- 
like and  had  no  settled  place  for  their  capital,  they  carried 
the  Ark  from  place  to  place  and  always  in  front  of  them 
in  battle,  just  as  our  army  carries  in  front  of  it  the  flag. 
It  is  said  it  contained  within  it  two  tables  of  stone,  upon 
which  the  Ten  Commandments  were  written, — this 
made  them  think  of  their  great  law-givers  ;  "  the  Golden 
Pot  of  Manna,"  —  this  made  them  think  of  God's  mercy 
to  them;  and  Aaron's  Rod,  that  budded, — this  made 
them  think  that  their  religion  and  nation  would  forever 
keep  on  budding,  as  it  were,  and  never  die.     On  the 


50  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

upper  corners  of  the  Ark  were  four  blocks  of  gold,  upon 
which  rested  a  covering,  like  a  broad  board,  made  of  pure 
gold.  This  was  the  Mercy-seat.  On  each  end  of  it 
stood  the  figure  of  a  golden  angel,  or  cherub.  The  two 
faced  each  other,  and  their  outspread  wings,  as  they 
gracefully  inclined  forward,  met  over  the  center  of  the 
Ark,  upon  which  they  gazed. 

These  things  were  much  more  sacred  to  the  Hebrews 
than  our  flag  is  to  us,  for  they  stood  not  only  for  the 
country  but  for  their  religion,  and  hence  they  protected 
them  with  the  greatest  care,  and  gave  their  lives  for 
them  as  brave  men  nowadays  do  for  their  homes,  their 
native  land  and  their  God ;  for  in  fighting  for  these 
things  men  feel  that  they  are  fighting  for  the  most  pre- 
cious things  in  the  world. 

Outside  the  temple,, in  the  courtyard,  was  a  very  large 
altar  on  which  burnt  offerings  were  sacrificed,  and  a 
large  brazen  bowl  resting  upon  the  backs  of  twelve 
oxen.  Before  offering  a  sacrifice,  the  priests  washed 
in  the  water  in  this  basin.  Even  the  animals  to  be 
sacrificed  were  washed,  for  the  Hebrews  believed  that 
only  the  purest  and  cleanest  things  should  be  offered 
to  God. 

And  now  having  told  you  briefly  how  the  temple  was 
built,  and  how  beautiful  it  was,  both  without  and  within, 
and  how  it  was  the  most  sacred  thing  to  the  Jew  in  all 
the  world,  I  must  very  briefly  tell  you  how  it  was  dedi- 
cated —  that  is,  about  the  ceremony  which  the  Jews  had, 
to  give  the  temple  over  to  the  service  of  God ;  for  it  was 
on  this  day,  perhaps,  and  in  this  act,  that  the  Jewish 
people  reached  the  very  highest  point  of  their  great- 
ness. 


WHAT  THE   HEBREWS   TAUGHT  THE  WORLD       51 

The  people  of  every  class  from  all  over  Palestine 
came  up  to  Jerusalem,  bringing  with  them  thousands  of 
cattle  and  sheep  to  sacrifice  as  a  peace  offering  to  Jeho- 
vah and  to  see  the  ceremony  of  the  dedication. 

When  the  city  was  all  decorated  and  thronged  with 
visitors,  a  grand  procession  of  the  fathers  and  elders  of 
the  various  tribes,  with  Solomon  at  their  head,  formed  and 
marched  slowly  up  the  mountain  side,  before  the  priests, 
carrying  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant.  Along  the  way 
incense  filled  the  air,  sacrifices  of  sheep  and  oxen  were 
made,  and  amid  clapping  of  hands,  shouting  and  music, 
the  whole  assembly  broke  forth  in  songs  of  praise 
and  thanksgiving  to  their  God.  When  the  Ark  was 
finally  lifted  to  its  place,  under  the  wings  of  the  cheru- 
bim, clouds  of  incense  filled  the  temple,  symbolic  of  the 
glory  of  God. 

Solomon,  standing  on  the  portico  of  the  temple,  blessed 
the  Children  of  Israel.  He  then  knelt  down  before  the 
altar,  and  raising  his  hands  to  Heaven,  offered  up  a  fer- 
vent prayer,  in  which  he  begged  Jehovah  to  bless  the 
temple  and  to  hear  the  voice  of  the  people,  even  that  of 
the  stranger,  when  it  was  directed  in  prayer  toward  the 
temple  :  "  That  thine  eyes  may  be  open  toward  this 
house,  night  and  day.  That  thou  mayst  hearken  to  the 
prayer  which  thy  servant  shall  make  toward  this  place." 
Thus  with  incense,  sacrifices,  feasts,  processions  and 
prayers  was  the  splendid  temple  given  over  to  the 
service  of  God. 

There  have  been  many  buildings  reared  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world  where  noble  men  have  thought  great 
thoughts  and  done  great  deeds.  Our  own  Capitol  build- 
ing at  Washington  is  one,  where  our  great  men  have 


52  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

thought  out  and  passed  laws  which  have  built  a  great 
nation  ;  Independence  Hall,  in  Philadelphia,  is  where  we 
told  all  the  world  that  we  were  free  from  England  and 
that  all  men  should  be  free  to  make  the  most  of  their 
lives ;  in  the  heart  of  the  great  city  of  London  is  the 
Parliament  House,  where  for  six  hundred  years  freedom- 
loving  Englisnmen  have  been  building  one  of  the  freest 
and  best  nations  ever  built.  Away  back  in  old  Rome, 
on  the  Capitol  hill  met  the  mighty  Roman  Senate,  which 
gave  all  the  world  afterward  great  lessons  of  how  to  rule 
men ;  still  farther  away,  and  farther  back  in  time,  on  a 
rocky  hill  called  the  Acropolis,  beauty-loving  Greeks 
built  the  beautiful  temple  called  the  Parthenon,  and 
carved  in  marble  such  graceful  statues  of  their  gods 
and  goddesses  that  they  have  served  as  models  of 
beauty  for  all  ages  since ;  still  farther  away,  and  farther 
back  in  time,  on  the  mountain  in  Jerusalem  was  built  a 
temple  without  a  statue  in  it,  and  in  which  no  Congress 
or  Parliament  or  Senate  ever  met,  but  in  which  the 
greatest  book  in  the  history  of  the  world  was  worked 
out  and  the  truest  religion  of  all  the  peoples  of  the  Old 
East  was  developed,  —  the  one  teaching,  that  there  is  one 
God,  all  powerful,  all  just,  who  rules  the  entire  universe. 
By  teaching  this  to  the  people,  the  world  got  a  great  start 
toward  finding  out  more  about  the  True  God,  and  it  made  it 
possible  hundreds  of  years  afterward  for  Jesus  to  teach 
mankind  not  only  that  there  is  one  all-powerful  and  all- 
just  God,  but  the  even  greater  lesson  that  He  is  an  All- 
loving  God ;  and  that  the  way  to  worship  Him,  is  not  to 
give  up  to  Him  oxen,  and  sheep,  and  the  like,  as  sacrifices, 
but  to  give  up  the  evil  in  our  lives,  and  put  good  in  its 
place  by  loving  and  helping  others,  and  by  being  thank- 


WHAT   THE   HEBREWS   TAUGHT   THE   WORLD       53 

ful  to  Him  for  this  beautiful  world  in  which  we  can  do  so 
much  good.  And  thus  I  think  you  see  that  this  little 
rocky,  mountainous  country,  no  larger  on  many  a  map 
than  your  finger,  and  in  reality  not  a  hundredth  part  as 
large  as  our  own  country,  taught  us  the  true  idea  of  One 
God.  This  idea  has  grown  "  like  the  grain  of  mustard- 
seed,"  and  with  the  truth  which  was  added  to  it  by  Jesus 
no  doubt  will  keep  growing  till  it  will  cover  the  whole 
world.  And  thus  you  will  see  more  and  more  as  we  go 
on  studying  history,  that  for  men  and  nations  to  be  great 
in  the  world,  they  must  have  great  thoughts  and  do  great 
deeds.  A  country  may  be  very  small  in  territory,  and 
yet  be  very  great  in  teaching  the  world  great  truths. 

References 

Day  :  Social  Life  of  the  Hebrews ;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 
Ottley  :  A  Short  History  of  the  Hebrews;  Macmillan  Co.,  N.Y. 
Clodd  :  The  Childhood  of  the  World;  Humbolt  Library  Pub.,  N.Y. 
Whitehouse  :  A  Primer  of  Hebrew  Antiquities  ;  Revell  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Edersheim  :  Jewish  Social  Life ;  Revell  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Smith  :  The  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land ;  Armstrong  &  Son,  N.Y. 
Cornill  :    History    of   the  People  of  Israel;    Open  Ct.  Pub.  Co., 

Chicago. 
Kent  :  History  of  the  Jews  ;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 
Gladden  :  Who  Wrote  the  Bible;  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Kemp  :    Outlines   of   History  for   Graded  and   District   Schools ; 

Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 


HOW   LITTLE   HIRAM    BECAME   KING 

In  the  story  of  the  Hebrews  we  were  speaking  of 
King  Hiram  of  Phoenicia  helping  Solomon  to  build  the 
beautiful  temple  at  Jerusalem.  Now  I  will  tell  you 
more  of  King  Hiram  and  of  his  people  and  country. 

Phoenicia  was  a  small  country  lying  a  little  to  the 
east  and  almost  north  of  Palestine.  The  Mediterranean 
Sea  lay  to  the  west,  and  the  Lebanon  Mountains  shut 
it  away  from  the  rest  of  the  world  on  the  east. 

It  was  a  strip  of  country  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  long  and  about  fifteen  wide.  By  starting  to  walk 
across  the  country  the  longest  way  on  Monday  morning, 
and  by  walking  thirty  miles  a  day,  your  father  could 
have  reached  the  other  side  by  Friday  evening,  or  by 
crossing  the  country  the  narrow  way,  he  could  have 
reached  the  other  side  before  Monday  noon. 

Phoenicia  was  not  a  level  country.  It  was  broken  up 
by  beautiful  mountains  that  are  many  times  higher  than 
the  tallest  tree  or  building  you  ever  saw.  They  are 
called  the  Lebanon  Mountains.  They  are  very  rugged 
and  sharp,  and  very  hard  to  climb.  For  many  years 
the  ancient  Phoenicians  tried  to  cross  them  but  could 
not.  They  are  made  of  a  peculiar  kind  of  rock,  and 
are  very  white  when  the  sun  shines  on  them.  The 
climate  in  Phoenicia  is  always  warm  and  the  days  are 
nearly  always  bright. 

54 


HOW   LITTLE   HIRAM   BECAME   KING  55 

On  some  of  the  mountains  were  very  large  forests  of 
cedar  and  pine  trees.  Have  you  ever  heard  of  the 
cedars  of  Lebanon  ? 

You  must  remember  that  the  whole  country  is  not 
twice  as  large  as  the  state  of  Rhode  Island.  Since  it  is 
so  narrow,  and  the  mountains  come  right  down  to  the 
sea  in  many  places,  there  are  very  few  good  wagon  roads 
in  the  country.  Between  the  mountains,  in  some  places, 
there  are  valleys  as  large  as  four  or  five  small  farms  put 
together.  The  strip  of  land  along  the  coast  is  covered 
with  sand,  but  lying  back  of  that  is  rich  soil.  This  is 
where  the  farmers  lived. 

Each  one  had  a  very  small  farm  or  garden.  On  the 
farms  grew  a  tree  which  had  on  it  bright  scarlet  blos- 
soms. It  was  very  beautiful  when  in  blossom.  Its 
fruit  was  the  pomegranate.  Fig  trees  and  large  green 
trees  having  upon  them  juicy  golden  oranges  grew 
there.  There  were  also  orchards  of  apple,  peach  and 
pear  trees.  In  the  gardens  grew  onions,  radishes,  cu- 
cumbers, melons  and  beets ;  and  in  the  fields  grew  oats, 
wheat,  barley  and  hay. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  the  country,  near  the  foot  of 
the  mountains,  there  were  low  hills,  upon  the  sides  of 
which  grew  the  chestnut,  oak,  cypress,  walnut,  syca- 
more, mulberry,  almond,  olive  and  palm  trees.  The  soil 
for  these  trees  had  been  washed  down  from  the  moun- 
tains by  the  rivers,  just  as  "  Father  Nilus  "  brought  the 
rich  soil  down  to  Egypt.  These  streams  dashed  down 
to  the  plains  very  rapidly,  making  many  waterfalls. 

In  this  country  King  Hiram  was  born  when  Judah 
and  Ruth,  of  whom  we  have  been  studying,  lived  in 
Jerusalem.    His  father's  name  was  Abibaal,  and  he  was 


56  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

king  of  the  country.  They  lived  in  a  beautiful  city 
called  Tyre.  Part  of  this  city  was  built  on  the  mainland 
and  part  on  an  island ;  that  on  the  mainland  was  called 
"  Old  Tyre  "  that  on  the  island  "  New  Tyre." 

Little  Hiram  liked  to  roam  about  in  his  father's  gar- 
dens. He  played  much  as  the  boys  do  now,  but  he 
learned  to  use  his  eyes  and  ears  perhaps  even  better 
than  we  often  do  ;  for,  not  having  books,  as  children  do 
now,  he  had  to  get  his  education  chiefly  by  seeing  things 
much  more  than  by  reading  about  them. 

In  Hiram's  country  not  many  people  could  be  farmers 
and  have  large  farms,  for  there  was  not  enough  land ; 
so,  many  turned  to  the  sea  to  see  if  they  could  not  make 
their  living  there.  There  was  a  little  fish  in  the  Medi- 
terranean Sea  which  had  a  sac  in  the  back  of  its  neck  in 
which  there  was  a  colored  liquid.  When  this  liquid  was 
boiled  for  several  days  it  could  be  used  for  coloring 
cloth.  A  piece  of  cloth,  when  dipped  into  this  dye, 
became  either  red,  blue,  or  purple.  The  kings  and 
rich  people  liked  to  wear  fine  purple  clothing ;  so  many 
people  became  fishers.  Hiram,  when  a  little  boy,  liked 
to  go  down  and  watch  them  work. 

The  fishers  soon  found  that  they  could  not  get  enough 
of  these  fish  near  the  shore,  so  they  began  to  make 
boats,  that  they  might  venture  out  farther.  As  they 
ventured  farther  and  farther  out,  it  was  more  conven- 
ient to  have  larger  boats.  After  a  time  they  learned  to 
make  three  different  sizes  of  boats  —  not  steamboats, 
though  (for  this  was  thousands  of  years  before  steam 
was  used),  but  rowboats,  rowed  by  slaves  which  the 
Phoenicians  bought  from  people  whom  they  traded 
with,  in  all  directions  from  their  little  home. 


HOW  LITTLE   HIRAM   BECAME   KING  57 

In  the  first  kind  of  boat  they  had  fifty  strong  men 
to  row,  hence  it  was  called  the  pen-te-con-ter,  which 
means  fifty.  It  took  twice  as  many  men  —  that  is,  a 
hundred  —  to  row  their  second-sized  boat.  They  did  not 
all  sit  on  a  level,  but  twenty-five  sat  above  and  twenty- 
five  below,  on  each  side.  If  you  looked  at  the  side  of 
the  boat  when  the  rowers  were  in  it,  you  saw  two  rows 
of  heads  and  two  rows  of  oars.  It  was  called  a  bireme, 
because  it  had  two  rows  of  oars.  In  the  third  size  there 
were  three  times  as  many  men  as  in  the  first  boat,  and 
they  sat  in  three  rows,  one  row  above  another.  This 
boat  was  called  a  trireme,  because  it  had  three  rows  of 
oars.  They  did  not  use  sails  or  rigging  except  in  fair 
weather,  when  they  had  one  small  sail.  Their  boats 
did  not  have  full  decks,  but  small  ones  at  the  ends  of 
the  boat.  When  they  wanted  to  go  very  fast  they 
fastened  a  sharp  point  on  the  front  end  of  the  boat 
which  would  cut  the  water.  The  large,  deep  place  in 
the  center  was  for  their  cargo. 

As  Hiram  had  often  been  down  to  the  shore  watching 
what  seemed  to  him  were  large  ships,  he  became  a  great 
pet  of  the  sailors.  One  day,  when  he  was  yet  a  boy, 
a  captain  of  one  of  the  boats  asked  him  to  go  with  him 
on  the  journey.  He  received  permission  from  his 
father,  and  he  and  his  servant  went  aboard  and  were 
soon  out  at  sea. 

Hiram  often  went  over  the  boat  to  see  what  they 
were  shipping  away  from  his  country.  He  found  the 
grains,  fruits  and  nuts  that  grew  everywhere  on  the  hill- 
sides and  in  the  valleys  of  Phoenicia,  and  wool  and  hair. 
One  day  he  found  a  cage  of  birds,  and  was  told  that 
they  were  brought  along  to  fly  to  land  if  the  sailors  in 


58  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

cloudy  weather  should  lose  their  way  and  could  not  find 
land.  You  see  they  did  not  have  our  compass  and  had 
to  sail  by  guiding  their  ships  by  the  North  Star. 

This  time  the  sailors  and  traders  went  along  the 
coast  of  Africa  and  got  ivory,  gold-dust,  apes,  peacocks, 
ostrich  feathers,  and  a  kind  of  oak  for  ship-building. 
Then  they  went  far  on  across  the  blue  Mediterranean 
Sea  to  Spain  to  get  some  tin  for  which  they  traded  the 
gold-dust,  ivory,  ostrich  feathers  and  timber.  Still  they 
were  not  satisfied,  and  they  sailed  out  through  the 
Strait  of  Gibraltar  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  struck 
boldly  out  on  its  stormy  waves,  landing  on  the  coast  of 
England.  This  time  they  traded  a  part  of  their  cargo 
to  the  Britons  (the  people  then  living  in  England)  for 
tin,  chalk  and  wool. 

From  England  they  went  eastward  across  the  ocean 
to  the  Baltic  Sea.  A  long  time  before  the  Phoenicians 
lived,  there  was  a  kind  of  pine  tree  that  grew  along  the 
shores  of  the  Baltic.  This  tree  had  a  hard  yellow  resin, 
which  ran  down  into  the  sand  and  there  hardened. 
Much  of  it  was  washed  out  into  the  sea.  It  is  now 
known  as  amber.  Here  the  Phoenicians  traded  their 
tin,  ostrich  feathers,  gold-dust,  ivory,  etc.,  for  amber. 

They  were  then  ready  to  return  home.  On  the  way 
back  to  Phoenicia  they  stopped  at  the  Canary  Islands 
and  traded  for  canary  birds.  All  along  the  coasts  were 
the  people  with  whom  they  had  traded  on  the  way  out ; 
and  now,  as  they  returned,  they  traded  again,  only  this 
time  they  gave  tin,  wool,  amber  and  chalk  for  more 
ostrich  feathers,  gold-dust,  ivory,  and  the  like.  After  a 
long  absence  they  reached  the  city  of  Tyre. 

Hiram  had  enjoyed  the  journey  very  much,  even  if  it 


HOW   LITTLE   HIRAM   BECAME   KING  59 

had  taken  so  long  a  time  (for  you  must  remember  that 
we  said  they  had  no  steamboat),  and  his  parents 
welcomed  him  home. 

Hiram's  father  wanted  to  improve  his  country  and  to 
make  it  the  richest  one  on  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  So 
when  his  son  returned  from  his  sea  voyage,  he  found 
that  his  father  had  had  the  Phoenicians  cut  out  a  few 
narrow  roads  over  the  mountains.  The  roads  were  often 
so  narrow  at  places  in  the  mountains  that  only  one  per- 
son or  animal  could  creep  along  over  them  at  a  time. 

He  also  learned  that  while  he  was  gone  a  caravan  had 
come  into  the  country  over  one  of  those  roads,  from  the 
far  East,  across  the  sandy  deserts,  from  the  rich  valley 
of  the  Euphrates.  When  the  caravan  returned  home 
again,  many  Phoenicians  went  with  it.  Caravans  con- 
tinued coming  to  Phoenicia,  and  the  people  soon  began 
to  get  wealthy.  But  cruel  people,  thieves  and  robbers, 
would  come  over  the  mountain  roads  as  well  as  the 
traders,  so  the  king  had  to  think  of  some  way  to  keep 
them  out.  He  had  large,  thick,  stone  walls  built  around 
the  city  of  Tyre.  In  the  walls  were  gates,  and  nobody 
could  enter  the  city  unless  he  came  through  the  gates. 

One  day  there  was  much  noise  at  one  of  the  city 
gates.  The  people  knew  that  there  was  a  new  caravan 
outside  the  wall,  and  they  were  all  anxious  to  get  some- 
thing new.  But  they  must  wait  over  night,  for  the 
traders  were  all  too  tired  with  their  journey  to  begin  work. 
The  next  morning  the  king  and  all  his  people  went  out 
to  meet  the  traders,  and  of  course  Hiram  went,  too.  . 

When  the  caravan  was  ready  to  return  home,  back  to 
the  far  East,  Hiram  asked  to  go  with  them.  Again  his 
father  gave  his  permission.      So  Hiram  and  his  servant 


60  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

watched  the  caravan  prepare  for  the  journey.  Perhaps 
you  never  saw  a  caravan.  Let  me  tell  you,  then,  of  the 
one  Hiram  went  with. 

Was  it  made  up  of  horses,  or  a  train  of  cars  ?  Oh, 
no  ;  instead,  it  was  composed  of  a  long  string  of  camels. 
They  used  the  camels  because  they  could  go  through 
the  deserts  better  than  any  other  animal  and  could 
carry  a  very  heavy  load  upon  their  backs.  As  you 
perhaps  know,  the  camel  has  a  large  fat  hump  on  his 
back  to  live  on  when  he  cannot  get  food.  The  traders 
had  to  make  a  frame  of  wood  to  go  over  the  fat  hump, 
and  then  they  placed  the  load  on  the  frame  instead  of 
on  the  tender  hump.  Hiram  saw  that  their  humps  were 
very  fat  now,  when  they  were  starting  out,  and  that  each 
camel  had  a  pretty  cloth  pad  over  his  back. 

When  it  came  time  to  load,  each  camel  came  to  the 
loading-place  and  knelt  while  his  load  was  being  placed 
upon  his  back.  All  at  once  one  of  the  camels  began 
crying  and  rolling  over  and  over  on  the  ground.  He 
did  this  because  his  master  had  placed  too  heavy  a  load 
upon  his  back,  and  he  refused  to  carry  it. 

But  what  had  the  traders  placed  in  the  loads  ?  Hiram 
asked  the  drivers  about  their  goods,  and  found  dried 
fruits,  nuts,  dried  fish,  dye,  ostrich  feathers,  tin,  gold- 
dust  and  amber. 

At  last  the  traders  were  upon  the  camels'  backs, 
ready  to  start.  Hiram  and  his  servant  were  also  in 
their  saddles.  The  slaves  were  ready  at  the  camels' 
heads  to  lead  them.  The  mule  was  at  the  head  of  the 
line  for  good  luck,  and  so  the  camels  began  taking  long 
steps,  and  the  whole  caravan  moved  across  the  valleys, 
mountains  and  desert  plains.     Sometimes  eight  or  ten 


HOW   LITTLE   HIRAM   BECAME   KING  6 1 

camels  were  fastened,  one  behind  the  other,  by  a  rope 
which  passed  from  their  halters,  back  along  their  sides, 
so  that  they  could  not  run  away  very  fast,  and  then  it 
did  not  take  so  many  slaves  to  lead  them.  I  forgot  to 
tell  you  that  the  king  sent  a  large  sum  of  money  with 
the  traders  to  give  to  the  people  through  whose  countries 
they  would  pass  to  keep  them  from  robbing  the  caravan. 

Hiram  and  the  caravan  went  over  the  mountains  and 
across  the  plains  for  many  days,  and  finally  reached  the 
Indus  valley,  and  there  they  traded  the  things  in  the 
camels'  loads  for  cotton,  ebony,  ivory,  steel,  precious 
stones,  and  skins  from  wild  animals.  Among  the  pre- 
cious stones  were  hard,  velvety  green  stones  called 
emeralds ;  a  blue,  violet,  or  purple  stone  called  ame- 
thyst ;  and  a  hard  rock  tinted  red,  or  brown,  or  green, 
called  jaspar. 

At  Babylon  they  got  gold  and  silver,  dried  bricks,  and 
rich  pearls.  At  Damascus  they  got  knives  and  swords  ; 
and  from  Persia,  melons  and  woolens.  In  Arabia  they 
got  more  camels  and  loaded  them  with  spices,  frankin- 
cense and  myrrh.  They  got  corn  (i.e.  wheat  and 
barley),  wine,  oil,  honey,  olives  and  balsams  from  the 
Hebrews.  From  India  they  got  slaves,  horses,  furs, 
shawls,  goats,  kids  and  hides.  Before  they  reached 
home  they  met  another  caravan  coming  from  Little 
Kufu's  home.  These  Egyptian  traders  had  corn,  honey, 
linen,  opals,  indigo,  opium,  gold-dust,  slaves,  and  a 
pretty,  hard,  yellow  stone  called  topaz. 

By  the  time  Hiram  and  the  traders  had  reached 
home  they  were  tired,  dusty  and  very  dirty,  for  they 
had  little  water  and  soap  to  use  during  their  journey. 
The  camels  were  all  very  thin  and  worn  out,  for  they 


62  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

had  been  gone  for  a  length  of  time  equal  to  that  between 
our  Fourth  of  July  and  Christmas.  When  they  reached 
the  city  walls,  the  loads  were  taken  from  the  camels' 
backs,  and  that  night  in  the  moonlight  you  could  have 
seen  them  lying  about  on  the  cool,  sweet  grass,  resting 
peacefully,  with  the  tired  traders  sleeping  by  their  sides, 
or  in  tents  near  by. 

When  the  sun  came  up  the  next  morning,  the  traders 
began  unpacking  their  goods,  arranging  them  so  that 
they  would  look  as  pleasing  as  possible.  The  king  and 
the  city  people  put  on  their  holiday  attire  and  went  down 
to  the  walls  to  trade.  When  the  gates  were  opened, 
Hiram  was  glad  to  see  his  father,  but  he  had  learned 
so  much  he  did  not  feel  sorry  that  he  had  gone.  Then 
the  trading  began,  and  what  a  noise  there  was  ! 

A  great  thing  grew  out  of  all  this  trading.  You  see 
that  when  people  trade,  as  your  father  and  uncle  do 
to-day,  they  cannot  always  do  it  all  by  talking  and 
remembering  about  all  the  trades  they  have  made,  but 
they  must  write  something  down.  The  Phoenicians 
found  that  they  had  to  do  the  same  way.  You  know 
that  over  in  Kufu's  home,  he  had  to  learn  and  use 
many  hundred  letters,  and  that  most  of  them  were  just 
pictures.  The  Phoenicians  did  not  have  time  to  use  so 
many  pictures,  so  they  began  turning  some  of  the 
pictures  into  letters  almost  like  those  we  have  to-day,  and 
from  so  many  they  selected  only  twenty-six.  Don't  you 
think  the  Phoenicians  did  a  great  thing  for  us  when  they 
gave  us  such  a  small  alphabet,  and  one  so  easy  to  learn  ? 

Hiram's  father  was  well  pleased  with  what  his  peo- 
ple were  doing.  But  one  thing  did  not  yet  please  him 
entirely,  —  so  many  things  were  brought  by  caravans 


HOW   LITTLE   HIRAM    BECAME   KING  63 

and  by  boats  to  Phoenicia  that  could  not  be  used  until 
they  were  changed  into  something  else,  such  as  large 
pieces  of  tin,  amber,  hair,  or  wool.  He  finally  had 
the  people  begin  to  make  different  things  from  these 
materials.  Of  course  to  do  this  it  would  sometimes 
take  many  persons  to  make  just  one  thing,  and  they 
began  living  closer  together.  They  began  coming  into 
the  city  of  Tyre,  and  the  city  grew  large  very  fast. 
You  can  see  on  your  map  that  they  built  other  towns  — 
Sidon,  Beyrout,  Byblus  and  Tripolis.  You  must  not 
think  that  those  early  people  built  large  factories  and 
houses  to  work  in  like  our  people.  In  that  olden  time 
people  made  most  things  by  hand.  But  they  made  just 
the  least  beginning  of  factories  as  we  see  them  in  our 
great  cities  to-day. 

They  wove  cotton  and  woolen  cloth,  and  colored  part 
of  it  a  royal  purple  for  the  rich  people.  They  took  the 
gold  and  silver,  melted  it,  and  formed  it  into  trinkets  or 
ornaments,  the  same  as  our  children  make  things  from 
soft  clay ;  some  of  it  was  placed  on  pieces  of  ivory  or 
ebony  to  make  idols  or  images  of  their  gods ;  some  was 
made  into  dishes  and  coins.  They  also  used  precious 
stones  for  jewelry,  and  to  hang  on  their  idols.  They 
made  beautiful  cashmere  shawls  from  the'  goat  hair. 
They  made  curtains  and  rugs  from  the  animal  skins,  as 
well  as  rich  perfumes  from  the  spices,  frankincense  and 
myrrh.  They  made  bronze  from  tin  and  copper,  and 
then  made  statues  of  the  bronze.  They  melted  sand 
and  a  carbonate  of  soda  together  and  made  vases, 
bottles  and  other  things  from  the  glass.  You  see  that 
they  now  had  many  new  things  to  exchange  with  and 
sell  to  the  people  of  other  countries.     These  early  Phce- 


64  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

nicians  taught  the  Greeks  and  Egyptians  many  things 
about  how  to  make  both  beautiful  and  useful  articles, 
as  well  as  how  to  carry  on  commerce  on  the  sea. 

During  these  times,  when  Tyre  was  becoming  the 
greatest  city  on  all  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  King 
Abibaal  died,  and  our  little  Hiram,  who  is  just  coming 
to  be  a  young  man,  became  king ;  so  now  we  shall 
have  to  call  him  King  Hiram.  As  king,  he  helped  his 
people  as  his  father  had  done;  and  they,  in  return, 
raised  an  army  for  him.  So  when  his  caravans  left 
home,  he  did  not  have  to  send  money  along,  as  his  father 
had  done,  to  buy  off  the  robbers  ;  but  he  made  treaties 
with  all  the  peoples  surrounding  his  country,  so  that  he 
might  trade  with  them.  Tyre  grew  to  be  very  rich  ;  and 
being  seated  on  a  great  rock  in  the  sea,  very  beautiful  also. 

Hiram  became  a  great  friend  of  the  Hebrews.  When 
he  heard  that  King  David  was  going  to  build  the  temple 
in  Jerusalem,  he  sent  him  word  that  he  would  give  him 
help.  When  King  David's  son,  Solomon,  became  king 
and  asked  for  Phoenicia's  help,  King  Hiram  sent  him 
cedars  from  the  Lebanon  Mountains ;  also  much  stone, 
gold,  silver  and  jewels,  and  carpenters,  masons,  gold- 
smiths, silversmiths  and  many  slaves.  In  this  way 
these  two  great  men  became  good  friends. 

When  King  Hiram  was  a  little  boy,  his  people  wor- 
shiped the  sun,  which  they  called  Baal,  and  the  moon- 
goddess,  which  they  called  Astarte.  They  thought  that 
these  two  gods  could  do  them  much  good,  but  if  they 
grew  angry  with  them,  much  harm  also ;  so,  to  keep 
them  from  doing  harm,  they  worshiped  them  very  faith- 
fully. They  thought  they  could  make  the  gods  very 
happy  by  sacrificing  to  them  that  which  was  their  dearest 


HOW    LITTLE    HIRAM    BECAME   KING  6$ 

possessions.  Thus  mothers  often  threw  their  babes  into 
the  fire  which  was  always  kept  burning  in  the  idol  of 
the  sun-god  in  the  temple.  King  Hiram  thought  this 
was  very  wrong,  and  had  the  people  use  sheep  and  kids 
in  sacrificing,  instead  of  little  children. 

Thus  King  Hiram  helped  his  people  to  become  rich 
and  great  and  much  wiser  in  religious  worship,  and 
they  in  turn  have  helped  us ;  for  if  the  Phoenicians  had 
not  learned  to  make  boats  that  would  sail  on  the  sea, 
and  if  others  had  not  learned  boat-making  from  them, 
and  improved  upon  it,  perhaps  Columbus  .would  not 
have  had  a  boat  to  come  across  the  sea  to  find  our 
country.  They  gave  us  the  alphabet,  which  they  bor- 
rowed in  a  less  perfect  form  from  the  Egyptians ;  and 
by  sailing  to  so  many  countries,  taught  all  the  people 
around  the  Mediterranean  many  of  their  first  lessons 
about  useful  and  beautiful  things.  They  manufac- 
tured many  new  things  and  sent  them  out  over  the 
world.  Now  do  you  not  think  that  the  Phoenicians  were 
a  great  people,  even  though  they  did  live  in  a  little 
country?  If  you  could  go  back  and  live  just  as  these 
children  we  have  been  studying  about  lived,  which  one 
of  the  children  would  you  rather  be  ?  —  Arya,  or  Kuf u, 
or  Judah,  or  Ruth,  or  Hiram,  and  why  ? 

References 

Rawlinson  :  Story  of  Phoenicia ;  Putnam's  Sons,  N.Y. 

Sayce:  The  Ancient  Empires  of  the  East;  chap.  iii.  Scribner's 
Sons,  N.Y. 

Anderson:  The  Story  of  Extinct  Civilizations,  chap.  iv.  Apple- 
ton  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

Myers  and  Allen:  Ancient  History;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 

Phoenicia:  In  Encyclopaedia  Britannica. 


HOW  THE  WORLD  CAME  TO   HAVE  BOOKS 

IN    IT 

Would  it  not  be  a  lonely  world  without  any  books  ? 
Can  you  imagine  a  world  without  any  picture  books, 
first  or  second  reader,  or  any  story-books  of  any  kind  ? 
Yet  there  was  a  time,  long  ago,  when  there  was  not  a 
single  book  in  the  whole  world,  when  there  was  not 
a  lead  pencil  or  pen  to  write  with,  or  even  a  single  bit 
of  paper  to  write  upon. 

But  do  you  not  think  they  would  need  to  know  some 
way  to  write?  How  do  you  think  they  could  send 
messages  to  each  other  if  they  were  far  apart,  keep 
an  account  of  the  grain  or  stock  which  they  bought  and 
sold,  or  an  account  of  the  important  things  they  did, 
so  that  their  children  and  children's  children  would 
know  about  them  ?  They  studied  and  thought  about 
it  a  great  deal  for  thousands  of  years,  and  tried  many 
different  ways,  until  finally  we  have  our  beautiful  books, 
just  as  we  have  the  telephone,  the  telegraph,  and  the 
electric  lights,  partly  through  other  people's  study  and 
work. 

In  that  far-away  time,  if  one  person  wanted  to  send 
a  message  to  another,  who  was  some  distance  from  him, 
the  only  way  he  could  do  was  to  send  a  person,  called 
a  messenger,  to  -tell  him.  If  they  were  very  far  apart, 
this  would  take  a  long  time,  sometimes  a  year  or  two. 

66  ^ 


HOW  THE  WORLD   CAME   TO   HAVE  BOOKS       67 

Then,  maybe  the  messenger  would  forget,  or  change  a 
part  of  the  message. 

If  they  wanted  their  children  and  grandchildren  to 
know  the  important  things  they  had  done,  the  only  way 
they  could  do  was  for  the  father  to  tell  his  children,  and 
these  children  their  children,  and  so  on.  In  this  man- 
ner stories  were  handed  down  from  one  generation  to 
another  for  many,  many  hundreds  of  years.  These 
stories  were  called  traditions  or  legends.  But  often- 
times the  story,  by  being  told  over  many  times,  would  be 
greatly  changed,  until  finally  they  would  hardly  have 
the  same  story  at  all.  It  would  be  like  the  game  called 
"gossip,"  which  you  play  sometimes.  One  person  tells 
another  a  story,  that  one  repeats  it,  until,  when  you 
come  to  the  last  one,  the  story  is  greatly  changed,  or 
maybe  wholly  different  from  the  way  it  started  out. 

Finally  some  of  the  people  who  wanted  a  better  way, 
thought  of  having  messengers  take  objects  along  with 
them  to  show  what  they  meant.  If  two  countries  were 
at  war,  and  one  wanted  to  ask  the  other  to  give  up,  or 
surrender,  it  would  send  a  sword  or  spear  to  the  other. 
If  that  one  would  surrender,  it  sent  back  earth  and 
water,  to  show  that  it  would  submit.  If  it  would  not 
surrender,  and  wanted  to  keep  on  fighting,  it  sent  the 
sword  or  spear  back  again. 

Let  me  tell  you  about  a  letter  which  was  written  in 
those  far-off  days.  A  certain  king  named  Darius  wanted 
another  king's  country  for  his  own,  so  he  sent  his 
soldiers  to  get  it.  They  fought  many  hard  battles  but 
could  not  get  the  country.  Finally  the  other  king  sent 
Darius  a  letter.  It  was  a  board  with  a  bird,  a  frog  and 
a  mouse  fastened  upon   it.     Do  you  think  you  could 


68  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

read  it  ?  It  meant :  —  "  Unless,  O  Darius,  you  and  your 
soldiers  can  become  as  birds  and  fly  through  the  air,  or 
as  frogs  and  hide  under  the  water,  or  as  mice  and  bur- 
row under  the  ground,  you  had  better  go  away ;  we  will 
kill  you  with  our  arrows." 

The  Indians  in  our  country  used  to  write  much  the 
same  kind  of  letters,  because  they  did  not  think  enough 
to  make  books  for  themselves,  and  were  too  childlike 
and  careless  to  learn  what  the  white  people  had  found 
out  about  writing  and  making  books. 

Once,  when  the  white  people  first  came  here,  one  of  the 
Indian  chiefs  thought  that  they  meant  to  take  all  of  his 
land  from  him,  so  he  decided  to  drive  the  whites  away. 
He  sent  an  Indian  to  them  with  a  rattlesnake's  skin 
filled  with  arrows.  It  meant  that  if  the  white  people 
did  not  go  away,  the  Indians  would  kill  them  with  their 
arrows.  The  white  people  sent  the  skin  back  filled 
with  powder  and  bullets.  It  meant:  "You  Indians 
may  come  with  your  arrows  if  you  wish,  but  if  you  do, 
we  will  kill  you  with  our  powder  and  bullets." 

What  do  you  think  of  that  way  of  writing  letters  ? 
Do  you  think  it  would  be  always  easy  to  find  the  objects 
which  were  needed  to  make  the  letters  ?  Suppose  that 
they  wanted  a  fish  and  were  many  miles  from  water, 
what  could  they  do  ?  If  they  could  not  get  a  real  fish, 
they  might  make  a  picture  of  it.  And  that  is  what 
they  had  to  do.  They  finally  found  out  that  in  sending 
messages  or  writing  down  anything,  it  was  much  easier 
and  better  to  make  the  pictures  than  it  was  to  use  the 
objects,  so  before  long  they  came  to  use  pictures  almost 
entirely. 

When  they  wanted  to  show  that  two  kings  had  war, 

i 


HOW  THE  WORLD   CAME  TO   HAVE   BOOKS       69 

they  made  a  picture  of  two  crowned  men  facing  each 
other,  with  bows  in  their  hands.  If  they  wanted  to 
show  that  one  had  conquered,  they  pictured  one  kneel- 
ing at  the  feet  of  the  other. 

Once  a  certain  Indian  thought  that  he  would  keep  a 
history  of  his  people  by  making  a  picture  of  the  most 
important  thing  that  happened  each  year.  One  year, 
many  of  them  had  small-pox,  so  he  made  a  picture  of  a 
man  covered  with  red  spots.  Another  year  many  of 
them  died  of  whooping-cough,  so  he  again  made  a 
picture  of  a  man,  with  his  mouth  open,  and  with  marks 
extending  from  the  mouth,  showing  that  he  was  cough- 
ing very  hard.  These  pictures  were  made  of  colored 
beads  strung  together. 

The  Egyptians,  who  lived  long  before  Christ  was 
born,  used  this  same  kind  of  picture-writing,  but  they 
improved  it.  At  first  they  used  the  entire  pictures  of 
the  objects,  but  gradually  began  to  shorten  them  by 
drawing  straight  lines  from  the  corners  of  the  pictures 
to  show  the  general  shape,  so  they  could  tell  what  they 
were.     This  was  called  hieroglyphic  writing. 

They  also  found  out  that  there  are  only  a  few  sounds 
which  we  can  make,  which  we  use  over  and  over  again 
in  our  spoken  words.  They  then  began  to  make  pic- 
tures to  stand  for  sounds,  usually  the  first  sound  in  the 
name  of  the  object.  For  example,  the  name  of  an  ox 
was  "  aleph,"  so  a  picture  of  an  ox's  head  stood  for  a> 
instead  of  ox.  A  little  chick  was  u>  an  owl  m,  a  cup 
k,  and  a  lion  r.  Sometimes,  however,  three  or  four 
pictures  might  stand  for  the  same  thing,  and  this  has 
made  it  hard  to  read  what  they  wrote.  Then,  too, 
sometimes  the  pictures  were  written  across  the   page, 


70  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

as  wc  write,,  at  other  times  in  columns,  as  we  write 
figures  which  we  wish  to  add,  and  at  still  other  times  in 
groups  here  and  there.  So  you  see  they  were  not 
always  easy  to  read. 

But  would  you  not  like  to  know  how  they  wrote,  and 
what  they  wrote  upon  ?  You  know  we  said  they  had  no 
paper,  pencils,  or  pens  in  those  days  which  looked  any- 
thing like  ours. 

In  the  marshy  parts  of  Egypt  and  southern  Palestine 
a  plant  grew  which  was  called  papyrus.  It  grew  to  be 
about  ten  feet  high  and  was  from  three  to  four  inches 
through.  I  will  measure  ten  feet  off  here  on  the  black- 
board. It  had  a  pith  something  like  a  cornstalk.  This 
pith  they  cut  into  strips,  and  the  strips  were  then  laid 
side  by  side  until  the  sheet  of  paper  was  from  eight  to 
ten  inches  wide.  Then  they  poured  Nile  water  over  it, 
and  laid  other  strips  side  by  side  across  these  in  the 
opposite  direction.  Thus,  these  crossing  strips  were 
somewhat  like  the  warp  and  woof  of  a  carpet.  Then  a 
heavy  weight  was  placed  on  top  to  press  all  tightly 
together;  and  when  the  strips  were  dry,  they  stuck 
together  as  if  they  had  been  glued.  It  made  a  very 
good  sheet  of  paper.  It  was  called  papyrus.  If  some 
of  you  will  bring  a  fresh  cornstalk  in  the  morning,  and 
some  glue,  we  will  use  it,  and  try  to  make  paper  our- 
selves, somewhat  as  the  old  Egyptians  made  it. 

The  pictures  were  painted  upon  it  with  a  raveled,  or 
frayed,  reed,  which  made  a  brush  something  like  a  small 
paint-brush.  The  ink  was  usually  red  or  black.  The 
red  was  made  of  minerals;  the  black,  of  charcoal.  For 
writing  about  their  gods,  the  priests  used  either  the  blood 
of  sacred  animals,  or  ink  made  of  charcoal,  which  had 


HOW  THE  WORLD  CAME  TO   HAVE   BOOKS       J\ 

been  made  of  the  burnt  bones  of  sacred  animals.  Some- 
times the  juice  of  berries  was  used.  Sometimes  they 
used  a  quill  pen  after  they  began  to  draw  straight 
marks,  or  when  they  made  only  the  outlines  of  the 
picture. 

After  the  papyrus  had  been  written  upon,  it  was 
rolled  up  like  a  map,  with  the  first  part  of  the  writing 
on  the  outside,  so  it  could  be  read  as  it  was  unrolled. 
At  first  the  rolls  were  light  brown,  or  tan,  in  color,  but 
grew  darker  as  they  grew  older.  Very  valuable  rolls 
were  put  into  earthen  jars,  or  cans,  and  tightly  covered, 
so  that  they  might  be  carefully  kept  for  after  genera- 
tions; and  some  few  fragments  of  these  are  found  to 
this  day,  and  are  very  valuable  to  those  who  are  trying 
to  find  out  just  how  the  old  Egyptians  lived. 

But  papyrus  grew  to  be  very  expensive  as  it  grew  to 
be  scarce,  so  that  very  few  people  could  afford  to  use  it. 
Many  persons  then  began  to  write  on  boards,  stones,  or 
whatever  they  could  find  which  was  fit  to  use.  Some- 
times when  they  wanted  their  writing  to  last  a  long  time, 
they  would  cut  pictures  in  stone  with  a  hammer  and 
chisel,  just  as  you  have  seen  letters  cut  in  tombstones. 
Many  of  their  tombs  are  covered  to-day  with  hiero- 
glyphics, and  it  is  by  wise  men  learning  to  read  these 
as  well  as  the  papyri  that  we  have  found  out  how  people 
lived  a  long  time  ago. 

In  some  countries,  Babylonia  especially,  east  of  Pal- 
estine, the  letters  were  little  wedge-shaped  characters. 
This  writing  was  called  cuneiform  writing.  "Cunei- 
form" means  "wedge-shaped."  The  letters  were  made 
by  a  small  instrument,  which  looked  something  like  a 
horseshoe   nail,   the   different    letters    being   made   by 


72  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

placing  it  in  different  positions.  The  letters  look  very 
strange  to  us.  It  took  many  years  to  learn  all  the 
positions  for  making  the  words  which  they  used.  It 
probably  took  the  boys  of  Babylonia  four  or  five  years 
to  learn  to  read  as  much  as  you  do  in  the  second  reader 
in  six  months. 

Much  of  the  writing  in  all  old  countries  was  written 
upon  clay  bricks  from  two  to  eighteen  inches  in 
length,  and  one  to  six  inches  broad.  Some  of  the 
bricks  were  flat,  like  ours,  and  some  rounded  on  top  like 
loaves  of  bread.  Such  books  would  seem  odd  to  us. 
Suppose  we  were  going  to  make  a  book  just  as  they  did 
in  those  days.  We  would  first  go  to  the  clay  pit,  and 
bring  home  a  pailful  of  clay,  which  we  would  mix  and 
work  much  as  we  knead  bread,  until  it  was  about  as  stiff 
as  bread  dough.  Then  we  would  mold  it  into  a  brick, 
perhaps  the  size  of  those  which  you  see  built  into 
the  ordinary  brick  house.  Then  we  would  write  the 
letters  upon  the  top  and  sides  of  it.  It  would  then 
be  turned  over,  and  a  little  wooden  pin  stuck  in  each 
corner  to  keep  the  writing  from  being  erased  while  we 
wrote  upon  the  other  side.  After  this  was  done  we 
would  have  to  stick  it  full  of  holes,  as  is  done  when 
baking  dough,  to  keep  it  from  puffing  out  of  shape 
while  baking.  Then  our  brick,  or  book,  would  be 
baked  in  the  oven  until  it  was  dry  and  hard.  If  the 
writing  was  anything  which  we  wanted  very  much  to 
keep,  we  would  put  a  new  layer  of  clay  over  the  first 
writing,  and  write  and  bake  it  all  over  again.  When 
the  outer  writing  was  worn,  this  outer  layer  of  clay 
could  be  chipped  off  with  a  trowel ;  then  we  should  have 
a  new  book  all  ready  for  use. 


HOW   THE  WORLD   CAME  TO   HAVE   BOOKS       73 

Would  it  not  seem  strange  to  you  to  bring  little  clay 
books  to  school  instead  of  the  pretty  readers  you  now 
have  ?  And  instead  of  the  nice  white  paper  which  we 
have  to  write  upon,  each  of  us  would  have  to  keep  a 
pailful  of  clay  at  his  desk  with  which  to  make  his  own 
books.  Then  each  schoolroom  would  have  to  have  an 
oven  in  which  the  books  could  be  baked.  I  doubt  very 
much  if  we  should  like  this  as  well  as  we  do  our  own 
schoolroom,  books,  pencils  and  paper. 

Sometimes  the  books  were  written  upon  parchment. 
I  have  some  parchment  at  my  desk.  One  piece  is  a 
college  diploma,  and  the  other  an  old  land  title.  You 
would  not  think  that  this  had  once  been  the  skin  of  an 
animal,  would  you  ?  And  yet  it  was.  The  skins  used 
by  the  ancient  people  were  tanned  carefully,  and  rubbed 
until  they  were  perfectly  smooth  and  soft.  When  writ- 
ten upon,  they  were  rolled  as  were  the  papyrus  books. 

Other  books  were  written  upon  boards,  or  stones,  cov- 
ered with  wax,  as,  for  example,  one  might  write  his  name 
in  a  cake  of  soap  with  a  sharp  pencil  or  stick.  They 
wrote  with  a  stylus,  a  little  instrument  about  as  long  as 
a  lead  pencil,  sharpened  at  one  end,  and  feather-shaped 
at  the  other.  They  wrote  with  the  sharpened  end,  then 
smoothed  the  wax  over  with  the  other  when  they  wished 
to  erase  what  was  written;  then  the  wax  was  ready 
for  use  again.  Sometimes  the  stylus  was  made  of  wood, 
sometimes  of  ivory  and  sometimes  of  gold  or  silver. 

You  remember  in  our  study  about  the  Phoenicians, 
we  found  out  that  they  were  great  travelers  and 
traders.  They  needed  some  quick,  easy  way  of  writ- 
ing, so  they  could  keep  accounts  of  what  trades  they 
had  made  and  what  they  had  seen.     In  Egypt,  where 


74  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

they  traded  much,  they  learned  about  hieroglyphic 
writing;  so  they  selected  just  a  few  signs  for  all  the 
sounds  they  used  in  speech,  —  about  twenty-six  in  all. 
This  made  it  much  easier  and  quicker  for  them  to  learn 
the  alphabet  than  to  learn  all  the  hundreds  of  signs 
which  the  Egyptians  used.  When  the  Phoenicians 
went  all  round  the  Mediterranean  and  traded  with 
the  people,  they  taught  them  the  alphabet.  And  from 
that  day  to  this  there  has  been  but  little  change  in  it. 
Is  it  not  a  great  thing  that  all  the  thoughts  which  the 
whole  world  can  think  can  be  expressed  in  only  twenty- 
six  signs  or  letters  ?  It  is  really  such  a  wonderful  thing 
that  those  who  worked  out  the  alphabet  so  that  people 
can  easily  write  their  thoughts  in  books  with  so  few 
letters,  did  a  greater  thing  for  man  than  those  who 
invented  the  steam  engine,  telegraph  and  telephone. 

Let  us  now  take  a  peep  into  one  of  these  old  libra- 
ries. We  see  earthen  jars,  containing  papyrus  rolls, 
covered  with  odd  little  pictures,  rolls  of  parchment, 
clay  tablets,  blocks  of  stone  and  waxed  tablets,  some 
covered  with  hieroglyphics,  others  with  the  cuneiform 
writing.  We  see  Egyptian  books  telling  us  about  their 
kings,  country  and  wonderful  gods;  Jewish  books 
telling  of  their  one  true  God,  and  Phoenician  books  of 
travel,  elegantly  written  with  golden  letters  upon  fine 
linen,  or  maybe  engraved  upon  gold  or  silver.  It  is 
quite  a  curiosity  shop,  is  it  not?  and  so  different 
from  our  libraries  of  to-day.  But  you  must  not  forget 
that  we  have  in  our  books  to-day  the  result  of  the  work 
of  all  these  people.  If  they  had  not  worked  out  the 
alphabet  language,  and  thus  given  the  world  a  start,  we 
could  not  have  worked  out  the  printing-press,  or  news- 


HOW   THE   WORLD   CAME   TO   HAVE  BOOKS       75 

papers,  or  the  books  of  to-day.  It  has  all  come  about 
—  alphabet,  writing,  books,  printing-press  and  news- 
papers—  by  each  generation  learning  a  little  more 
than  the  last,  until  we  finally  know  how  to  write  and 
print  as  we  now  do ;  and  doubtless  years  from  now 
other  people  will  know  even  more  about  it,  and  be  able 
to  do  it  easier  and  faster  than  we  do.  That  is  the  way 
the  world  continually  grows  better.  Each  person 
begins,  and  works  a  lifetime,  to  learn  what  he  can ; 
then  another  begins  where  he  leaves  off,  and  adds  to 
it ;  and  thus  each  generation,  as  it  passes,  comes  to  know 
a  little  more  than  the  one  just  passed.  But  with  our 
many  good  books  and  papers  we  shall  do  well  not  to 
forget  those  first  patient  workers;  for  by  seeing  how 
others  in  the  past  have  worked  to  make  life  better  and 
more  beautiful  for  us,  we,  in  turn,  come  to  want  to  do 
something  to  make  other  lives,  both  in  the  present 
and  future,  more  useful  and  happy. 

References 

Rawlings  :    The  Story  of  Books  ;  Appleton  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Clodd  :  The  Story  of  the  Alphabet ;  Appleton  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Articles  in  cyclopedias  on  Writing,  Printing,  Hieroglyphics,  Cunei- 
form writing,  Papyrus. 
Day:   Alphabets  Old  and  New;  Scribner1s  Sons,  N.Y. 


THIRD-GRADE   WORK 
GREECE 

The  aim  of  the  third-grade  work  is  (i)  to  present  the  chief  geo- 
graphical features  of  Greece  as  one  strong  factor  which  influenced 
the  institutions  of  the  Greeks  ;  (2)  to  present  historical  sketches  of  the 
life  of  the  people  at  four  different  stages  of  their  development :  — 

1 .  In  infancy  —  Homer's  time. 

2.  In  young  manhood  —  Independence  gained  by  Greece — Per- 
sian Wars. 

3.  In  prime  of  life  —  Age  of  Pericles. 

4.  In  old  age  —  Age  of  Alexander  the  Great. 

Through  story  and  biography  and  picture,  the  pupil  should  be  led 
to  see  not  disconnected  lives,  but  something  of  Greece's  growth  to 
a  land  of  great  beauty.  Then  having  seen  something  of  the  thought 
and  beauty  which  the  Greeks  developed,  he  should  see  how  Alexan- 
der the  Great  sowed  these  seeds  broadcast  over  the  East  by  his  con- 
quests, and,  by  founding  Alexandria,  built  up  a  great  granary,  so  to 
speak,  in  which  the  thought  and  life  of  all  the  past  up  to  that  time 
might  be  stored.*  Children  will,  of  course,  not  enter  into  the  fullest 
meaning  of  all  these  relations  ;  but  they  may  be  started  intelligently 
on  a  road  which  will  grow  clearer  as  they  advance  in  the  higher 
grades,  and  one  which  will  immediately  beautify  their  own  lives  and 
surroundings  in  proportion  to  the  sympathy  with  which  they  enter 
into  the  lives  of  the  joyous,  happy  and  beauty-loving  Greeks. 


# 


THE   GEOGRAPHY   OF   GREECE 

Last  year  in  our  history  work  we  studied  the  geog- 
raphy of  four  countries.  Two  of  them — Egypt  and 
Babylon  —  were  large  and  in  rich  valleys ;  the  other 
two  —  Palestine  and  Phoenicia  —  were  small,  had  rather 
thin  soil,  were  cut  up  by  hills  and  mountains,  and  had 
no  great  rivers  in  them. 

In  the  two  great  river  countries,  the  people  could  sail 
up  the  rivers,  which  ran  from  one  end  of  the  country  to 
the  other,  and  then  float  back  on  the  current.  By  this 
means  everybody  in  the  country  came  to  know  one  an- 
other somewhat,  and  to  have  much  the  same  ways  of 
thinking  and  living ;  and  so  it  was  easy  for  them  also  to 
have  just  one  ruler,  or  king. 

But  in  the  small  countries  we  studied,  —  Palestine 
and  Phoenicia,  —  which  were  so  cut  up  by  rugged 
mountains,  and  had  no  great  rivers  running  through 
them,  we  found  it  was  hard  for  the  people  to  have  just 
one  person  to  rule  them.  They  were  much  more  likely 
to  break  up  into  small  groups  of  people,  each  having  its 
own  customs  and  ways  of  life  as  well  as  its  own  ruler. 
It  was  so  most  of  the  time  in  Palestine,  and  almost 
always  so  in  Phoenicia,  except  that  sometimes  a  great 
king,  like  Hiram,  might  rule  in  Tyre,  and  have  a  loose 
control  over  the  other  great  cities  in  the  country. 

Now  all  these  people  whom  we  have  been  studying 
77 


78  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

about, — the  Babylonians,  the  Egyptians,  and  the  Jews,  — 
when  they  grew  rich,  traded  what  they  had  to  sell  to 
the  Phoenicians;  and  the  Phoenicians,  brave  people 
that  they  were,  went  out  all  over  the  Mediterranean 
and  traded  with  all  the  peoples  living  on  its  borders,  — 
not  only  taking  them  wheat,  barley,  dyes  and  fruits, 
but  also  taking  many  beautiful  and  useful  things,  such 
as  tools  and  vessels  for  farm  and  household.  They 
also  taught  them  the  alphabet,  which  the  Eastern 
countries  had  worked  out  by  patient  thought  and  labor 
of  several  thousand  years. 

One  of  the  very  first  countries  to  which  the  Phoeni- 
cians came,  in  going  westward,  was  the  lands  of  the 
Greeks.  It  would  take  them  but  five  or  six  days  to  go 
from  their  own  country  to  Greece  in  one  of  the  boats 
which  we  studied  about  last  year,  and  not  even  so  long 
as  that  for  them  to  reach  one  of  the  many  beautiful 
green  islands  which  lay  between  their  country  and 
Greece. 

Now,  since  we  are  to  study  the  Greek  people  this 
year,  I  want  you  to  see  something  of  the  country  in 
which  they  lived. 

If  we  could  have  taken  one  of  those  triremes  with  a 
Phoenician  trader  and  gone  with  him  on  a  trading  trip 
to  Greece,  we  would  have  first  noticed,  as  we  came 
within  forty  or  fifty  or  seventy-five  miles  of  the  coun- 
try, a  great  many  islands  out  in  the  sea,  looking  just 
like  stepping-stones  to  tempt  people  into  the  Greek 
coast,  and  to  tempt  the  Greek  people,  who  lived  on  the 
coast,  out  to  trade  with  the  people  around ;  and  as  we 
went  on  up  to  the  coast  of  Greece,  we  would  see  ever 
so  many  arms  of  the  sea  creeping  far  up  into  the  coun- 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  GREECE  79 

try,  making  excellent  landing  places  for  boats,  —  just  the 
kind  of  places  to  get  easily  what  the  people  had  to  sell, 
and  to  trade  off  to  them  the  things  in  the  boat.  And 
it  was  a  fact  also  that  the  many  islands,  scattered  out 
in  the  sea  right  in  the  face  of  Greece,  had  nearly  every 
one  of  them  good  harbors.  It  was  also  true  that  the 
arms  of  the  sea  ran  far  up  into  the  mainland  of  Greece, 
making,  all  told,  so  many  excellent  harbors,  that  the 
peoples  around  the  Mediterranean  easily  learned  to 
trade  with  Greece.  And  the  Greeks,  on  the  other  hand, 
became  active  and  daring,  and  traveled  much  around 
the  Mediterranean,  trading  with  everybody  and  planting 
colonies  wherever  a  favorable  trading  spot  was  found. 

But  another  most  striking  thing  we  would  have 
noticed  as  we  approached  the  country  on  the  boat, 
would  have  been  that  Greece  looked  like  a  mountain 
rising  straight  out  of,  the  blue  Mediterranean.  When 
we  were  far  off,  it  would  have  looked  like  one  solid 
mountain ;  but  as  we  came  nearer,  say  eight  or  ten  miles 
away,  we  should  have  thought  Greece  was  nothing  but 
mountain  peaks  and  crags. 

The  fact  is,  it  was  somewhat  more  than  mountain 
peaks,  but  not  so  very  much  more.  To  begin  with,  the 
whole  country  was  somewhat  smaller  than  Indiana.  It 
was  a  part  of  Europe,  but  its  size  on  the  map  as  com- 
pared to  the  rest  of  Europe  was  about  the  size  of  the 
little  finger  nail  as  compared  to  the  size  of  the  palm  of 
the  hand ;  and  as  compared  with  the  size  of  Asia,  it 
would  compare  about  as  the  size  of  Rhode  Island  would 
with  the  whole  of  North  America. 

But  now  as  to  the  mountains.  There  is  almost  in  the 
center  of  Greece  a  high  mountain  called  Par-nas'sus. 


80  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

It  is  a  beautiful  mountain,  and  persons  can  climb  it. 
We  will  imagine  ourselves  on  top  of  it,  to  get  a  look 
over  Greece.  In  every  direction  we  would  look,  we 
would  see  mountains ;  and  not  very  regular  ones,  either, 
but  often  knotted  and  twisted  ones  running  in  all  direc- 
tions, and  of  every  shape ;  then,  again,  in  another  direc- 
tion would  be  a  long  ridge  of  mountains  like  a  backbone, 
and  running  off  from  it  ever  so  many  spurs,  like  ribs. 
As  we  stood  on  top  of  Parnassus  and  looked  around, 
it  would  seem  like  a  vast,  wild,  rugged  country.  The 
cliffs  and  crags  would  be  steep  and  barren  ;  there  would 
be  but  few  roads  leading  over  them  on  account  of  their 
steepness. 

But  as  we  looked  down  toward  the  feet  of  these 
rugged  cliffs,  we  would  see  scattered  all  about  among 
them  little  plains  and  upland  hollows.  The  very 
largest  of  the  plains  would  be  perhaps  as  large  as  a 
good-sized  county ;  then  some  would  be  as  large  as  a 
township ;  others  would  be  smaller,  not  larger  than 
a  good-sized  farm;  and  some  would  be  mere  tiny 
patches  in  a  hollow  between  two  mountains,  perhaps 
not  larger  than  a  good-sized  field. 

Now  one  thing  that  came  about  from  having  Greece 
cut  up  into  so  many  pieces,  and  with  such  high  moun- 
tain walls  around  them,  was  that  hundreds  of  little 
cities,  or  villages,  as  we  would  often  call  them,  grew  up 
all  over  the  country,  each  having  its  own  customs  and 
ways  of  living,  and  each  its  own  form  of  government. 
You  see  the  mountains  were  so  high  and  so  steep,  and 
so  few  paths  or  roads  lead  from  one  side  to  the  other, 
that  the  people  living  on  the  two  sides  could  not  be- 
come well  acquainted  with  each  other.     They  grew  up 


THE   GEOGRAPHY   OF  GREECE  8 1 

not  caring  much  for  any  Greek  people  except  those  living 
in  their  own  little  valley.  When  they  did  meet  others,  it 
would  be  to  fight  them  for  some  little  trouble  or  other 
which  might  arise,  or  simply  because  they  were  jealous 
of  their  growth.  If  you  would  imagine  each  one  of  the 
principal  cities  of  your  own  state  ruling  itself  entirely, 
and  making  all  its  laws,  and  fighting  the  other  cities  much 
of  the  time,  it  would  be  much  like  it  was  in  Greece. 

Another  thing  which  made  this  trouble  all  the  worse 
was  the  rivers.  Greece  had  no  large  river  running  all 
through  it  from  end  to  end,  like  the  Nile  in  Egypt  or 
the  Mississippi  in  our  own  country.  There  were  sev- 
eral small  rivers  in  the  country,  but  the  mountains  were 
so  steep  and  so  near  the  shore  that  it  made  the  rivers 
very  rapid,  short  and  often  rocky.  There  was  not  a 
single  river  in  all  Greece  upon  which  one  could  travel 
with  a  boat.  In  winter  and  spring,  when  it  rained  and 
the  snow  melted  off  the  mountains,  the  rivers  would 
plunge  down  the  mountain  side  and  with  terrible  strength 
overflow  the  meadows  (no  wonder  the  Greeks  made 
their  river-gods  having  bodies  of  strong  beasts);  then  in 
the  summer  time  they  would  be  entirely  dry.  Thus  the 
rivers  did  not  make  natural  roadways  from  one  part  of 
the  country  to  another ;  and  this  helped,  like  the  moun- 
tains, to  keep  the  people  separated,  and  caused  each 
small  group  to  build  up  a  little  city-state  by  itself  and  to 
care  very  little  for  any  of  the  other  city-states.  For 
these  reasons  you  can  partly  see  why  it  was  not  easy  for 
Greece,  in  all  the  thousand  years  her  little  snarling  city- 
states  were  growing  up,  to  have  just  one  united  state  and 
one  ruler  over  them  all,  as  we  have  in  the  United  States. 

But  there  was  another  thing  about  this  rugged  coun- 


82  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

try  of  which  I  have  been  telling  you,  that  was  much  to 
the  advantage  of  the  Greeks.  It  helped  them  to  de- 
fend their  country  from  enemies.  There  were  very  few 
passes  in  the  mountains,  and  often  the  mountains  would 
come  right  down  to  the  water's  edge  and  against  those 
arms  of  the  sea  I  told  you  about,  so  that  there  would  just 
be  room  for  a  wagon  to  crawl  between  the  sea  and  the 
steep  cliff.  Now,  if  enemies  tried  to  come  from  the 
north  down  into  the  country  and  capture  the  Greeks,  a 
few  brave  men  could  so  completely  guard  these  passes 
that  they  could  keep  back  a  whole  army.  In  one  of 
these  passes  Leonidas,  the  Spartan  king,  and  his  brave 
handful  of  men  guarded  the  pass  of  Ther-mop'-y-lae  and 
kept  back  for  several  days  the  whole  Persian  army  of 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  men. 

If  the  Greeks  had  not  been  so  selfish  and  had  been 
willing  to  help  one  another  when  the  enemies  tried  to 
get  into  their  country  to  conquer  them,  they  could  have 
so  completely  stopped  up  these  passes  and  narrow  paths 
as  to  make  it  almost  impossible  for  an  enemy  to  con- 
quer them.  It  was  a  pity  the  Greeks  never  could 
learn  to  work  together  —  not  even  in  time  of  greatest 
danger. 

There  were  several  other  ways  in  which  the  moun- 
tains had  an  influence  on  the  lives  of  the  Greeks :  in 
the  first  place,  they  made  the  soil  often  rather  stony  and 
thin,  for  fully  five-sixths  of  the  country  was  so  barren 
and  rocky  that  it  was  fit  only  for  pasture  ;  and  although 
there  were  rich  spots  in  places,  yet  what  the  Greeks 
got  from  the  soil  they  had  to  work  for ;  this  made  them 
self-reliant,  hardy  and  full  of  health,  and  this  was  good 
for  them.     It  is  not  necessarily  the  country  where  the 


THE   GEOGRAPHY  OF  GREECE  83 

soil  is  exceedingly  rich  and  people  have  to  work  but  little 
for  a  living  that  has  the  strongest  and  wisest  men. 

Then  another  way  the  mountains  influenced  the 
people,  was  in  their  religion.  Some  of  the  peaks  were 
high  and  covered  almost  all  year  with  snow.  This  was 
especially  true  of  Mt.  Olympus,  up  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  Greece.  On  the  top  of  this  snow-capped,  cloud- 
capped  mountain,  to  which  they  could  not  climb,  the 
Greeks  imagined  their  chief  gods  and  goddesses  lived. 
Far  up  in  the  snows  and  clouds  they  had  their  homes, 
and  only  occasionally  came  down  from  the  top  to 
mingle  with  the  people  below.  These  mountains  were 
clothed  at  their  feet  and  far  up  their  sides  with  groves 
of  beech,  ash,  pine  and  oak.  The  Greeks  imagined  also 
that  far  above  in  their  upland  hollows  in  the  forests,  in 
caverns  and  in  quiet  places  of  retreat,  many  gods  and 
goddesses  dwelt.  In  these  groves  and  grottoes  priest- 
esses lived,  and  listened  to  the  murmuring  leaves  of  the 
oaks  or  breathed  in  the  vapors  which  came  from  the 
cavern,  and  thus  tried  to  find  out  the  way  the  gods 
wished  them  to  act.  These  places  where  they  would 
go  to  consult  their  gods  were  called  oracles.  A  very 
famous  one,  where  Zeus  was  consulted,  was  at  Dodona 
in  an  oak  grove  in  Epirus,  in  northwestern  Greece,  but 
the  most  famous  in  all  Greece  was  the  Oracle  of  Delphi, 
up  on  the  slope  of  a  mountain  adjoining  Mt.  Parnassus, 
in  a  cavern  from  which  a  vapor  came.  There  was  a 
steep  cliff  immediately  above,  and  a  great  chasm  below. 
Here  the  richest  temple  of  all  Greece  was  built  by  the 
money  paid  by  those  who  came  to  consult  the  oracle 
and  worship  Apollo. 

The  mountains  also  furnish  fine  stone  for  building, 


84  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

especially  a  blue  and  green  stone  called  porphyry ;  and 
a  very  beautiful  marble,  which  they  used  for  making 
statues,  as  fine  as  the  world  has  ever  seen.  There  were 
silver,  iron  and  copper  in  the  mountains,  and  these 
helped  in  their  commerce  by  giving  them  something  of 
which  to  coin  money,  and  likewise  something  to  sell. 
They  also  furnished  them  material  for  making  useful 
tools  for  farm  and  household. 

In  the  forests  of  the  mountains,  plains  and  fields, 
were  many  animals,  both  tame  and  wild,  which  were 
used  for  food.  The  wild  boar,  deer,  wolf  and  bear  for 
large  game,  and  the  quails,  hares,  thrushes,  partridges, 
pigeons,  for  small,  gave  food  for  the  table  and  enabled 
the  Greeks  to  enjoy  the  delights  of  hunting. 

The  temperature  of  Greece  was  neither  very  cold  nor 
very  hot;  the  atmosphere  was  dry  and  bright;  the 
breezes  came  in  everywhere  from  the  mountains  and 
the  sea,  to  cool  and  refresh;  for  there  was  no  spot  in 
all  Greece  more  than  fifteen  miles  from  a  mountain  or 
forty  miles  from  the  sea :  all  this  tended  to  make  the 
Greek  quick  and  energetic.  In  such  a  climate  he  could 
work,  take  gymnastic  exercises,  —  often  without  any 
clothing,  and  never  with  much,  —  participate  with  de- 
light in  the  festivals  to  the  gods,  and  enjoy  the  chase  in 
the  forest  and  field. 

Thus  we  see  that  notwithstanding  the  Greek  lived  in 
a  little  country,  cut  up  by  mountains  very  greatly,  and 
with  rather  a  thin  soil,  yet  take  it  all  in  all  —  moun- 
tain, wood,  cliff,  rock,  sea,  river,  sky,  island  and  ocean, 
all  beautifully  combined  —  it  was  a  delightful  and  invig- 
orating earth  and  sky  which  surrounded  him,  and  stimu- 
lated him  to  produce  the  rarest  grace  and  beauty  in  art 


THE   GEOGRAPHY  OF  GREECE  85 

ever  produced  by  any  people  in  the  world.  And  in  the 
festivals  which  he  enjoyed,  with  music,  song  and  dance ; 
in  the  worship  of  the  god  and  goddesses  ;  in  stately  pro- 
cessions ;  and  in  their  games  which  gathered  together 
all  that  would  delight  both  body  and  mind,  they  lived 
almost  as  if  their  life  was  one  continual  holiday.  The 
Greek's  ideal  was  a  beautiful  soul  in  a  beautiful  body. 
His  beautiful  country  no  doubt  greatly  aided  and  stimu- 
lated him,  as  we  have  seen,  to  think  much  about  and 
to  work  out  this  ideal. 

References 

Tozer:  Classical  Geography;  American  Book  Co.,  Cincinnati. 
Botsford  :  A  History  of  Greece;  Macmillan  Co.,  N.Y. 
Oman  :  A  History  of  Greece,  chap,  i ;  Longmans  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Curtius  :  A  History  of  Greece,  Vol.  I,  chap,  i ;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 
Duruy :  A  History  of  Greece,  Vol.  I,  chap,  i ;  Estes  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Felton :   Ancient  and  Modern  Greece ;    Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co. 

Boston. 
Myers  and  Allen :  Ancient  History ;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Kemp :  Outline  of  History  for  District  and  Graded  Schools ;  Ginn 

&  Co.,  Boston. 


GREECE    IN    HER    INFANCY   OR   THE   TIME 
OF   HOMER 

"We  will  travel  to-day,  Harold,"  said  the  teacher, 
"with  our  imagination,  not  to  the  river  Nile  nor  to 
the  Phoenician  land  with  its  ships,  but  to  Greece,  a 
little  country  far  to  the  east,  jutting  out  from  the 
southern  coast  of  Europe  into  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 
and  looking  like  a  hand  with  stubby  little  fingers. 
This  country  is  four  or  five  days'  travel  by  trireme 
from  Egypt,  —  Kufu's  country,  —  which  we  studied 
about  last  year;  and  five  or  six  days'  travel  in  a 
Phoenician  boat  westward  with  little  Hiram  last  year 
would  have  brought  us  to  its  green  islands  and  lovely 
shores.  I  want  to  tell  you  about  this  country  when  it 
was  very  young  and  but  few  people  living  in  it.  We 
will  first  see  it  when  it  is  a  mere  infant,  as  it  were, 
and  afterward  see  it  grow  to  be  a  man."  Harold  closed 
his  eyes  to  imagine  the  sea,  mountains,  valleys  and 
rivers,  and  when  he  opened  them  again  he  found  him- 
self alone  in  the  loveliest  valley  he  had  ever  seen.  Be- 
hind him  lay  the  sea ;  to  the  right  were  hills  crowned 
with  tall  pine  trees ;  on  the  left  was  a  thick  wood,  and 
beyond  it  the  blue  mountain  peaks  touched  the  blue 
sky.  Harold  stopped  to  pick  up  a  few  acorn  cups  and 
knock  a  prickly  green  chestnut  bur  from  the  tree. 

He  wandered  on  and  presently  was  much  surprised 
to  see  a  stone  wall  a  short  distance  before  him.      He 

86 


GREECE   IN   HER  INFANCY  87 

walked  in  at  the  open  gate.  It  was  nearly  dark  by 
this  time,  and  he  did  not  know  whether  he  was  in  a 
house  or  a  barn,  for  he  heard  sounds  of  both  animals 
and  men ;  but  being  very  tired,  he  lay  down  on  one  of 
the  benches  of  polished  stone  just  inside  the  gate  and 
slept  soundly  until  morning.  -He  found  his  neighbors 
were  awake,  too.  There  were  cows,  a  watchdog,  sheep, 
goats,  and  pigs  in  their  pens,  built  around  the  inside  of 
the  square  wall ;  and  there,  too,  were  the  rooms  for  the 
men  who  tended  them,  and  rooms  for  the  women  who 
milked  the  cows  and  goats. 

At  one  end  of  this  court  was  a  long  portico  with 
columns,  which  was  the  entrance  to  the  real  house. 
Harold  thought  he  was  never  in  such  an  odd-looking 
front  yard. 

A  little  boy  of  Harold's  size  came  and  stood  by  the 
side  of  one  of  the  columns.  He  was  barefoot  and  wore 
a  garment  thrown  loosely  over  the  shoulders,  for  Greece 
was  so  warm  that  only  on  colder  days  and  near  the 
mountains  did  one  need  much  clothing.  Harold  joined 
Phoenix  (for  that  was  the  boy's  name),  and  after  saying 
a  pleasant  good  morning  to  a  stranger  who  was  folding 
up  his  bed  of  skins  in  the  portico,  he  said,  "  Come  with 
me  into  the  doma  (that  was  what  he  called  the  dwelling 
room)  and  I  will  ask  my  father  if  you  may  stay  with  me." 

They  passed  through  a  dark  hall  into  a  very  large 
open  room,  where  there  were  many  men,  and  were  soon 
at  the  side  of  a  kind-faced  man,  who  said  he  would  be 
glad  to  have  his  little  son's  guest  remain  with  him.  He 
was  a  tall,  straight  man,  and  his  light  yellow  hair  was 
arranged  in  long  curls.  He  wore  over  his  chiton  (for 
so  Phoenix  called  his  dress)  a  beautiful  red  cloak.     It 


88  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

was  not  a  cloak  such  as  we  know,  but  a  large  square 
piece  of  cloth  beautifully  embroidered  around  the  edge, 
draped  about  the  body  and  fastened  on  the  left  shoulder 
with  a  silver  clasp. 

Harold  sat  on  a  footstool  and  looked  about  him.  In 
two  rows  on  either  side  of  the  room  were  wooden  col- 
umns which  held  up  the  roof.  Near  the  center  of  the 
room  was  a  large  column,  and  leaning  against  it  were 
a  great  number  of  spears,  which  Phoenix  said  would  be 
used  to  attack  their  enemies  on  the  other  side  of  the 
mountains.  At  one  side  of  the  room  was  a  fireplace 
built  of  brick.  There  was  no  chimney,  but  Harold  did 
not  mind  the  smoke,  for  he  was  eager  to  see  what  was 
being  prepared  for  breakfast.  Two  slave  women,  who 
were  captives  from  another  valley,  cooked  the  meat. 
They  put  pieces  of  beef  on  iron  sticks  and  slowly 
roasted  it  over  the  open  fire.  A  young  girl  lifted  a 
copper  kettle  from  the  crane  and  stirred  something 
that  very  much  resembled  oatmeal. 

Many  men  were  in  the  room.  Phoenix  explained 
that  some  of  these  were  his  older  brothers,  who  were 
married,  and  who,  with  their  families,  had  rooms  in 
another  part  of  the  house,  while  others  were  guests 
and  strangers,  who  sat  on  the  hearth-stone  and  sought 
his  father's  protection. 

"  Come,  Phoenix,  and  take  my  shield  to  the  room 
above,"  said  the  largest  and  strongest  of  them  all. 
It  took  both  boys  to  carry  it  to  the  apartment  over 
the  doma.  There  were  so  many  interesting  shields, 
swords,  helmets,  greaves  and  spears,  besides  the  house- 
hold goods  stowed  away,  that  Harold  wished  to  look 
at  them  all'.     He  was  given  one  of  the  prettiest  chairs 


GREECE   IN   HER    INFANCY  89 

to  use  for  his  own  while  he  was  there.  It  had  a 
curved  back  all  in  one  piece  of  wood,  with  a  carved 
border,  and  with  a  bronze  horse  embedded  in  the  center. 
It  was  a  comfortable  chair,  although  it  had  neither 
rockers  nor  arms.  "  What  a  fine  store  I  could  have, 
if  all  these  things  were  mine,"  thought  Harold. 

When  they  came  down,  the  door  of  the  doma  was 
opened,  and  there  stood  a  gentle  woman  with  a  fine 
face,  dressed  in  a  long  white  chiton.  She  bade  her  son 
come  to  his  breakfast.  Harold  followed,  and  when  all 
the  children  were  seated,  a  little  table  was  set  before 
each  one.  Harold  enjoyed  his  wholesome  breakfast  of 
goat's  milk  and  barley  bread,  and  was  too  polite  to  seem 
to  notice  the  very  odd  but  beautifully  shaped  spoon  and 
bowl  given  him.  After  breakfast  they  went  to  the  large 
garden  back  of  the  house,  where  Phoenix  proudly  pointed 
out  his  own  special  young  apple  trees,  which  were  bear- 
ing for  the  first  time,  the  trim  rows  of  asters  and  the 
abundant  crop  of  beans  which  he  had  been  taught  to 
care  for  during  the  summer.  Near  by  was  a  goose 
pond  where  Penelope,  Phoenix's  sister,  was  throwing 
bread  to  the  geese. 

She  presently  came  to  them,  and  they  entered  the 
house  together  —  not  the  room  where  they  first  went,  but 
the  one  back  of  that,  where  Harold  and  the  others  ate 
breakfast,  the  thalium,  or  women's  room,  as  it  was  called. 
There  sat  the  mother  and  the  sisters  of  Phoenix,  sewing. 
The  mother  passed  from  one  to  the  other,  showing  one 
how  to  turn  a  hem  and  another  how  to  arrange  the 
colors  on  the  border  she  was  embroidering.  Even  little 
Penelope  was  taking  stitches  in  a  chiton  which  was 
intended  for  her  brother's  birthday,  for  all  girls  among 


90  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

the  early  Greeks  learned  to  sew  and  spin  and  to  do  all 
kinds  of  household  work.  Harold  could  not  decide 
which  was  the  prettiest  of  Phoenix's  four  older  sisters, 
for  they  were  all  beautiful ;  but  he  liked  Narcissa,  the 
one  with  golden  hair,  the  best,  for  she  was  the  most 
gentle.  A  dark-haired  little  girl,  not  much  older  than 
Penelope,  carried  Narcissa's  silk  to  her,  arranged  her 
footstool,  and  brought  her  a  drink.  She  did  not  look 
happy,  and  Harold  saw  her  wipe  away  the  tears  as  she 
gazed  toward  the  sea;  for  she  remembered  how,  not  many 
months  ago,  she  was  stolen  from  her  country  and  brought 
by  the  Phoenician  and  sold  to  be  a  sewing-maid  in  this 
household.  Narcissa  found  her  weeping,  and  kissed  her 
softly.  Harold  wondered  if  she  would  ever  forget  her 
home,  and  the  parents  and  brothers  and  sisters  from 
whom  she  had  been  stolen. 

At  dinner  time  the  work  was  put  away,  the  hunters 
returned,  bringing  a  large  stag,  and  men  and  women  sat 
down  in  the  doma.  The  slaves  brought  in  jugs  of  wine 
and  cases  of  water,  and  these  the  master  mixed  in  an 
earthen  urn  of  the  most  beautiful  pattern.  Its  handles 
were  traced  with  gold,  and  a  silver  dove  perched  on  each. 
Small  tables  were  brought  in,  and  after  being  carefully 
washed,  were  placed,  one  before  each  person,  for  the 
Greeks  never  all  sat  at  one  table  to  dine  as  we  do.  The 
kettle  of  peas  was  lifted  from  the  crane  and  then  put 
into  small  dishes  that  looked  like  the  saucers  Harold 
had  seen  under  his  mother's  flower-pots,  only  they  were 
not  so  well  shaped.  The  roasted  pork  and  beef  was 
carried  to  the  table  of  the  carvers,  and  there  cut  into 
small  pieces  before  being  served.  Baskets  of  onions 
were  passed  around,  and  barley  and  wheat  bread  looked 


GREECE   IN   HER   INFANCY  9 1 

very  tempting  in  baskets  of  golden  wire.  A  piece  of 
cheese,  a  cup  of  olive  oil,  and  a  bronze  saucer  of  honey 
completed  the  food  they  would  have  for  dinner.  Before 
any  one  ate,  a  slave  poured  water  from  a  golden  pitcher 
into  a  basin,  and  each  washed  his  hands ;  for  since 
there  were  no  forks,  and  spoons  were  little  used,  the 
fingers  needed  to  be  quite  clean.  Instead  of  using 
napkins  they  cleaned  their  fingers,  after  the  meal,  on 
pieces  of  dough.  They  drank  wine,  but  it  was  well 
mixed  with  water,  and  the  Greek  was  so  temperate  in 
its  use  that  he  rarely  became  intoxicated. 

After  the  tables  were  removed  and  the  crumbs  picked 
up  off  the  floor,  the  father  took  his  place  on  a  great 
throne-like  seat  covered  with  a  fine  rug.  Here  he  sat 
with  the  other  people  grouped  around.  On  one  side 
Harold  noticed  a  platform  up  high,  much  like  the  band- 
stand he  saw  in  town.  Here  musicians  sat  and  played 
upon  the  harps  and  sang  the  songs  of  the  heroes  — 
amo'ng  others  a  song  about  the  capture  of  the  Golden 
Fleece.  "  This  is  very  beautiful,"  said  Harold.  "  Oh, 
wait  until  we  go  to  the  market  place  and  hear  Homer," 
said  Phcenix.  "  I  will  ask  my  father  if  we  may  go  with 
him." 

Just  then  a  bugle  sounded,  and  both  boys  scampered 
away  to  the  outer  wall.  Coming  over  the  ridge  beyond 
the  meadow,  was  a  drove  of  white  oxen  with  glistening 
coats,  accompanied  by  their  driver  and  his  servants. 
Phcenix  clapped  his  hands  at  first,  but,  thinking  again, 
said,  "  I  hope  it  isn't  Narcissa  he  is  coming  for."  The 
man  proudly  approached  the  wall,  and  entering  the  doma 
was  presented  at  the  throne  of  the  chief.  The  next  day 
when  he  went  away  he  took  Narcissa  to  be  his  wife  and 


92  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

left  the  oxen,  for  they  were  the  price  her  father  received 
for  her.  Narcissa  rode  a  pretty  gray  horse  as  she  went 
away.  The  dark-haired  little  slave  girl  whom  she  took 
with  her  smiled  back  from  the  donkey-wagon  that  held 
the  beautiful  and  useful  garments  Narcissa  and  her 
maidens  had  woven. 

One  morning,  just  after  breakfast,  the  father  with 
several  of  his  sons  and  slaves  walked  out  into  the  coun- 
try to  oversee  the  men  who  farmed  his  land.  The  men 
who  tended  the  land  lived  in  rude  but  well-kept  huts. 
The  father  went  to  the  threshing  floor,  where  they  saw 
a  servant  driving  a  pair  of  oxen  over  the  barley.  Phoenix 
and  Harold  gathered  up  what  was  thrown  to  the  side,  for 
Phoenix  might  have  this  for  his  own  planting.  Harold 
became  interested  in  a  man  who  was  using  a  pick  to 
break  up  the  ground,  for  the  plows  drawn  by  oxen  were 
not  much  better  than  sharpened  sticks  and  did  not  loosen 
the  ground  well.  Laertes  (for  that  was  his  name)  spoke 
kindly  to  Harold,  and  pointed  out  his  hut  among  the  rest. 
He  explained  that  the  little  bunch  of  wool  which  Harold 
noticed  on  Laertes'  door  told  that  a  little  girl  baby  had 
come  to  live  in  his  home.  He  pointed  out  for  Harold  the 
road  to  the  vineyards  where  the  grapes  were  ripening,  and 
let  him  pet  the  sheep  whose  coats  were  so  carefully  kept. 
The  chariot  of  a  nobleman,  with  four  horses  hitched 
abreast,  passed  by  to  the  race-course ;  a  soothsayer  came 
muttering  something  about  the  flight  of  a  flock  of 
crows  meaning  bad  luck  to  the  olive  crop ;  a  traveler  sat 
down  to  tie  the  cord  of  his  sandal.  The  goats  came  up 
from  the  meadows,  and  the  maidens  came  with  earthen 
jars  to  milk  them.  Harold  had  had  a  lovely  day  in  the 
country,  but  it  was  now  evening  and  he  bade  farewell  to 


GREECE   IN   HER   INFANCY  '        93 

Laertes  and  returned  with  the  others  to  the  town ;  for 
although  he  had  been  so  interested  in  the  home  of 
Phoenix  that  he  had  not  noticed  other  houses,  he  was 
really  in  a  small  city  just  beginning  to  grow  up  in  a 
beautiful  valley,  for  at  this  time  in  Greece  there  were 
many  little  independent  towns.  The  houses  in  each  town 
were  far  apart,  and  many  families  often  lived  in  each 
one. 

Early  the  next  morning  the  men  made  ready  to  go  to 
the  market  place.  There,  after  seeing  the  onions, 
olives,  fruits,  beans  and  melons  sold,  they  gathered  in 
groups  around  the  porticoes  of  the  market  place,  and 
the  boys  listened  to  a  heated  discussion  of  the  question 
of  waging  war  against  a  neighboring  valley.  Among 
the  people  Harold  noticed  Laertes  in  his  coat  of  lion 
skin  and  asked  him  what  he  was  going  to  say ;  but 
Phoenix  quickly  drew  Harold  aside  and  said  that  Laertes 
would  not  be  allowed  to  speak,  for  he  was  only  a  laborer, 
and  that  his  father  and  brothers  and  others  who  were 
noblemen  would  decide  what  wars  should  be  waged. 
Just  then  the  soothsayer  whom  Harold  had  seen  that 
day  at  the  farm  appeared.  Taking  a  scepter  in  his 
hands  as  a  sign  of  authority,  he  began  to  speak.  He 
said  he  had  dreamed  of  a  returning  army  and  many 
captives,  fair  women  and  strong  men,  of  shields  and 
plundered  gold.  All  listened  attentively,  and  it  was  de- 
cided to  make  war  on  a  neighboring  city,  chiefly  because 
they  were  jealous  of  its  growth,  for  the  people  of  the 
city  had  given  no  offense.  Phoenix  loved  to  hear  of 
war,  and  said  that  when  he  was  a  man  he  would  go 
with  war-chariots  to  every  valley  and  make  the  chiefs 
give  up  their  gold  and  silver,  that  he  would  bring  home 


94  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

their  men  and  women  as  slaves,  that  he  would  gain  the 
laurel  crown  in  the  race-course,  and  then  he  would  be 
the  greatest  man  in  all  Greece. 

Presently  there  appeared  in  the  market  place  a  man 
with  head  slightly  bent  forward,  with  cautious  step  and 
intent  face,  who  put  his  hands  before  him,  and  finding 
his  harp,  drew  it  to  him.  As  his  .fingers  moved  gently 
over  the  strings,  a  deep  silence  fell  all  around  him  —  it 
was  Homer,  the  blind  poet.  "  How  delightful !  "  whis- 
pered Phoenix ;  "  he  is  going  to  sing  more  about  the 
beautiful  Helen  and  the  siege  of  Troy.  About  Achilles, 
the  brave  boy-hero,  and  Ajax  the  powerful,  and  wise 
old  Nestor,  and  the  wooden  horse.  We  must  listen,  for 
he  cannot  be  with  us  many  years,  and  he  who  listens 
best  now  can  best  tell  his  sons  the  story.  My  father 
says  many  traditions  have  been  lost  because  no  one 
remembered  them  well  enough  to  tell  them  to  his  sons." 
Harold  thought  they  would  remember  because  the  story 
was  so  beautiful  and  so  beautifully  sung.  Homer  told 
only  a  part  that  day,  and  at  evening  the  boys  repeated 
at  home  parts  of  what  they  had  heard. 

While  Phoenix  was  taking  his  lesson  in  music  from 
one  of  the  captive  princes,  and  learning  to  repeat  legends 
and  wise  sayings  after  a  trusted  slave,  Harold  stole  away 
and  watched  the  older  boys  and  men  at  their  contests  in 
running  and  leaping.  They  had  all  been  trained  to  be 
great  athletes,  and  even  the  poorest  seemed  to  Harold 
to  be  very  good.  They  all  did  so  well  he  wished  every- 
body could  be  awarded  an  olive  branch,  which  was  given 
only  to  the  victor. 

He  liked  to  play  with  Phoenix's  little  cart,  and  many  a 
game  of  marbles  and  checkers  they  enjoyed  together, 


GREECE    IN    HER   INFANCY  95 

while  Penelope  stood  by  with  her  kitten  in  her  arms  and 
Phoenix's  little  dog  bit  at  the  marbles. 

Seated  after  play  on  his  beautifully  shaped  chair,  he 
never  tired  of  looking  at  the  furniture  of  the  doma. 
There  were  chairs,  and  wooden  chests  with  ivory  figures 
on  the  lids,  couches,  carpets  and  rugs,  all  of  which  had 
been  made  by  hand.  Near  the  hearth  on  the  floor  and 
hanging  on  the  wall  were  all  varieties  of  earthenware 
vessels  and  kettles  of  copper  and  bronze,  for  the  Phoe- 
nicians had  taught  the  Greeks  how  to  make  all  these 
things.  A  large  red  earthenware  vase  was  placed  near 
the  cupboard  where  the  goblets  stood.  This  vase  was  the 
prettiest  in  the  room.  It  had  around  its  top  a  picture 
of  a  hunter  and  his  dogs  —  done  in  black.  The  figures 
looked  rather  stiff,  but  they  were  pretty,  considering 
they  had  to  be  cut  in  the  vase  and  then  filled  with  black 
paint.  The  greatest  beauty  was  in  the  shape  of  the 
vase,  and  in  the  handles,  which  were  large  and  sym- 
metrical. On  the  walls  were  great  plates  of  brass  orna- 
mented with  iron.  On  the  great  one  that  hung  over  the 
door  to  the  thalium  was  the  picture  of  a  tower  over  the 
city  wall.  A  woman,  tall  and  graceful,  stood  there  with 
a  little  baby  in  her  arms.  She  was  looking  beseechingly 
into  the  face  of  a  young  warrior  clad  in  armor  from 
head  to  foot.  Just  showing  beyond  the  wall  on  a  hill 
was  the  army  to  which  he  seemed  about  to  return. 
Harold  looked  so  often  at  this  picture  that  he  would 
never  forget  it.  There  were  many  other  pictures,  and 
all  interesting,  and,  like  other  pictures  of  ancient  times, 
all  made  of  metals.  It  is  thought  by  many  that  at  this 
time  the  Greeks  had  not  yet  learned  to  paint  pictures. 

On  the  day  that  the  men  were  to  start  out  to  battle,  all 


96  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

assembled  in  the  doma  and  prepared  to  offer  a  sacrifice 
to  Ares,  the  god  of  war.  A  strong  ox,  with  a  wreath  of 
flowers  around  its  neck,  was  led  in  and  killed  before  the 
hearth.  Part  of  it  was  put  upon  the  hearth,  which  was 
their  altar,  and  burned.  By  the  manner  of  burning  and 
the  color  of  the  smoke,  the  oracles  tried  to  tell  what 
would  be  the  result  of  the  battle.  Prayers  were  made 
to  Ares,  and  in  the  thalium  sacrifice  was  offered  to 
Hestia,  the  goddess  of  the  hearth,  and  prayers  were 
offered  that  she  might  protect  the  household.  Then 
the  men,  clad  in  armor,  with  bows  and  arrows,  and  slings, 
and  spears,  and  shields,  marched  away  a  few  miles 
across  the  mountains  to  fight  a  neighboring  city;  for, 
as  I  told  you,  one  thing  the  Greek  cities  never  could 
learn  was  to  be  friends  with  one  another. 

But  Harold  and  Phoenix  remained  at  home,- passing 
many  days  playing  marbles,  jack-stones  and  ball,  very 
much  as  boys  do  now,  till  one  morning  several  ox 
carts  were  drawn  up  before  the  outer  gate  and  Phoenix 
and  Harold  were  delighted  when  they  were  told  they 
might  go  with  a  farm  hand  on  a  journey  to  the  sea- 
shore to  trade  with  the  Phoenicians.  In  the  first  cart 
was  placed  the  fine  linen  and  woolen  goods  that 
Phoenix's  mother  and  sisters  had  woven.  In  another 
was  wool,  and  in  another  the  finest  of  the  olives  that  Laer- 
tes had  brought  in  from  the  farm.  Hirus,  the  brother 
of  the  dark-haired  little  slave  girl,  drove  the  oxen  for 
Phoenix.  As  they  lay  that  night  on  the  soft  wool,  near 
the  seashore,  and  looked  up  at  the  clear  sky  and  the 
stars,  Phoenix  told  Harold  about  the  ships  and  the  trade 
of  the  Phoenicians  ;  and  in  the  quiet  night,  after  Phoenix 
was  asleep,  Hirus  told  Harold  how  he  and  his  Phoenician 


GREECE    IN    HER   INFANCY  97 

kinsmen  had  once  on  the  sea  been  taken  captive  and 
sold  to  Phoenix's  father.  He  said  they  did  the  finest 
carving  and  work  in  metals,  and  that  the  Greeks  were 
just  beginning  to  learn  to  do  that  kind  of  work.  Harold 
at  last  fell  asleep  listening  to  the  dark-eyed  slave's  stories 
of  the  wonderful  work  of  his  people  —  of  how  other  kings 
hired  them  to  build  their  temples,  of  how  they  braved 
the  roughest  sea  to  get  tin  from  distant  lands,  and  of  the 
rich  palaces  of  their  kings.  The  next  morning  they 
were  busy  trading  at  the  coast.  The  Phoenicians  were 
there  in  their  ships,  and  everybody  was  busy.  Phoenix 
traded  the  wool  plucked  from  his  own  sheep  for  a  silver 
cup.  When  the  wagons  went  back  the  next  day,  they 
were  loaded  with  shields  and  spears,  chairs,  tapestries 
and  rugs  from  the  countries  about  Babylon ;  jewels  and 
wheat  from  Egypt,  and  purple  dyes,  cashmere  shawls 
and  metal  looking-glasses  from  the  land  of  Phoenicia. 
Thus  Harold  saw  how  the  beautiful  little  country  of 
Greece  learned  many  of  its  first  lessons  about  useful 
and  beautiful  things  by  trading  with  the  Phoenicians, 
and  how  the  Phoenicians  gathered  together  the  things 
made  in  the  countries  we  studied  about  last  year  — 
Egypt,  Palestine  and  Babylon  —  and  brought  them  west- 
ward and  traded  them  to  people  who  had  not  yet  learned 
to  make  things  so  useful  and  beautiful. 

By  the  Greeks  learning  all  that  the  Phoenicians  had  to 
teach  them  about  the  alphabet,  about  weights  and  meas- 
ures, about  purple  dye  for  making  hangings  for  palaces, 
and  robes  for  kings,  about  how  to  tan  skins  by  using  the 
root  of  the  evergreen  oak  of  Greece,  and  how  to  make 
useful  things  of  iron,  copper  and  silver,  they  became 
more  than  the  simple  farmers  which  Harold  saw  as  he 


98  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

took  his  trip  through  the  country  ;  for  they  soon  learned 
to  make  ships  like  those  which  the  Phoenicians  used,  and 
after  a  time  became  the  greatest  traders  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea. 

But  although  the  Greeks  at  this  early  time  were  very 
simple  and  plain,  yet  at  this  very  time  they  wrote  a 
book,  which  people  read  with  as  much  delight  now  as 
they  did  thousands  of  years  ago.  It  is  one  of  the  great- 
est books  ever  written,  telling  us  most  of  what  we  now 
know  of  early  Greece,  with  her  brave  heroes  and  beauti- 
ful women.  The  book  is  made  up  of  the  songs  of 
Homer,  and  it  is  called  the  "  Iliad."  Boys  and  girls 
study  this  book  now  when  they  go  to  college,  and  in  this 
way,  although  Greece  died  thousands  of  years  ago,  the 
best  things  the  Greeks  wrote  still  live  as  fresh  as  ever 
in  the  life  of  every  good  scholar. 

References 

Isham  :  The  Homeric  Palace ;  Preston  &  Rounds  Co.,  Providence. 
Timayenus  :  The  Homeric  Age  ;  Appleton  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Jebb  :  The  Age  of  Homer  ;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Guerber:  Story  of  the  Greeks;  American  Bk.  Co.,  Cincinnati. 
Baldwin:  Stories  of  the  Olden  Time;  Scribner  &  Sons,  N.Y. 
Morris :  Historical  Tales  (Greece)  ;  Lippincott  Co.,  Philadelphia. 
Botsford:  A  History  of  Greece  ;  Macmillan  Co.,  N.Y. 
Myers  and  Allen:  Ancient  History;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Oman  :  A  History  of  Greece ;  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Harding :  Greek  Gods,  Heroes,  and  Men ;  Scott,  Foresman  &  Co., 

Chicago. 
Kemp :  Outlines  of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools  ;  Gini? 

&  Co.,  Boston. 


THE  YOUTH   OF   GREECE  AND   HER 
STRUGGLES   FOR   LIBERT^ 

Phidippides  started  swiftly  from  Athens,  "over  the 
hills  and  under  the  dales,  down  pits  and  up  peaks," 
reaching  Sparta,  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  away,  in  less 
than  two  days.  His  country  was  in  danger,  and  there 
was  not  a  moment  to  be  lost.  He  went  to  ask  help  of 
the  Spartans,  for  word  had  come  to  Athens  that  the 
Persian  king,  Darius,  was  moving  straight  toward  the 
beautiful  city  to  destroy  her ;  and  to  meet  Persia,  Athens 
would  need  Sparta's  aid.  You  wonder  why  this  great 
king  was  coming  over  to  Greece  ?  He  was  angry  with 
the  Athenians,  and  I  will  tell  you  why. 

It  was  now  a  long  time,  four  or  five  hundred  years, 
since  Homer  lived,  and  Greece  had  changed  in  many 
ways.  It  had  grown  much  richer,  and  there  were 
now  the  new  poets  Sappho  and  Hesiod,  and  many 
sculptors,  who  made  beautiful  statues  to  represent  the 
gods  and  goddesses,  and  ornamented  the  graceful 
Greek  temples. 

Every  five  years  the  people  from  all  Greece  gathered 
to  see  the  Olympic  games,  which  were  held  in  honor  of 
their  god,  Zeus.  There  the  young  men  and  boys 
jumped,  ran  and  wrestled  with  one  another,  and  those 
who  did  best  received  a  laurel  crown.  The  boys  who 
won  were  very  proud  of  their  crowns.      It  was  at  the 

99 


IOO  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

games  that  the  poets  recited  their  new  poems.  Do  you 
think  that  by  gathering  together  in  this  way  the  people 
would  understand  each  other  better  and  be  willing  to 
help  one  another  when  they  got  into  difficulty,  as  Athens 
is  now  ? 

You  remember  that,  in  Homer's  time,  there  were  little 
city-states  scattered  about  in  Greece  separated  by  the 
hills  and  jpountains.  Well,  these  villages  have  now 
grown  into  towns  and  there  are  many  more  of  them 
than  in  Homer's  time.  The  people  still  do  not  live 
together  in  one  government  as  they  should,  if  they  wish 
to  be  strong,  but  perhaps  when  Darius  comes  to  fight 
Athens  they  will  forget  their  little  jealousies  of  one  an- 
other and  will  join  to  protect  their  beautiful  land.  Some- 
times, when  these  cities  became  crowded  or  the  people 
disliked  their  king,  they  left  their  home-city,  and  sailed 
away  as„  colonists  to  build  new  homes  in  Italy,  Sicily, 
and  far  across  the  ^Egean  Sea  along  the  coast  of  Asia 
Minor.  Now,  it  is  about  something  these  cities  in  Asia 
Minor  did  that  Darius,  the  Persian  king,  is  angry.  You 
do  not  now  quite  see  why,  but  I  think  you  will  presently. 

But  first  I  must  tell  you  another  thing  that  was 
changed  since  Homer's  time.  There  were  no  longer 
kings  in  the  little  states  ruling  the  people,  except 
at  Sparta,  which  was  the  largest  city  in  southern 
Greece;  and  this  king  had  men  called  ephors  to  help 
him.  At  Athens,  the  chief  city  in  Attica,  there  had 
been  no  king  for  a  long  time.  Long  ago  the  people 
had  grown  tired  of  having  one  man  rule  them,  and  had 
chosen  men  called  archons,  and  legislators,  to  rule  them 
and  make  their  laws. 

Solon  was  one  of  the  wisest  of  these  men.     He  had 


THE  YOUTH  OF  GREECE^  \      >  !'  \}i6f 

traveled  in  many  lands,  in  Egypt  and  Asia,  was  of  noble 
birth,  and  kind  to  all  the  people.  The  rich  had  gotten 
most  of  the  power  in  their  hands  and  left  the  poor  un- 
protected, but  when  Solon  was  chosen  to  be  both 
archon  and  legislator,  he  made  new  laws  to  help  the 
common  people.  They  were  glad  of  this,  but  because 
he  did  not  divide  the  lands  again  as  had  been  done 
before  and  give  them  a  share,  they  were  dissatisfied. 
But  Solon  saw  that  the  people  were  better^off  than 
before,  and  hoping  that  they  would  stay  so,  he  went 
away  from  Athens  to  travel  again,  spending,  it  is  said, 
two  years  in  travel  and  study  —  in  the  wiser  and  richer 
countries  of  the  Old  East. 

Sometimes  in  the  cities  of  this  little  land  of  Greece 
a  nobleman  who  had  been  disappointed  in  not  getting 
some  office  which  he  wanted,  or  who  did  not  like  the 
ruler,  would  say  to  the  people,  that  if  they  would  help 
him  to  put  down  the  rightful  ruler  of  the  country  so 
that  he  himself  might  rule,  he  would  help  all  the  people 
to  have  an  easier  time.  A  man  who  got  the  power  this 
way  was  called  a  tyrant.  I  want  to  tell  you  about  the 
tyrant  Pisistratus,  who  seized  the  power  after  Solon 
went  away. 

Pisistratus  came  hurriedly  driving  into  Athens  one 
day,  covered  with  blood  and  his  mules  bleeding.  He 
told  the  people  that  his  enemies  had  tried  to  kill  him 
because  he  was  the  people's  friend.  This  pleased  the 
people,  and  they  voted  him  a  bodyguard  of  soldiers. 
With  these  he  gained  control  of  Athens  and  ruled  for 
many  years.  He  was  a  good  ruler  and  did  much  to 
improve  Athens.  He  built  the  Academy,  which  was 
something  like  the  beautiful  parks  in  some  of  our  cities, 


•102  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

and  made  a  fine  gymnasium  in  it,  for  the  boys  to 
exercise  in.  He  also  built  a  temple  to  Athena  on  the 
Acropolis,  —  a  great  rocky  hill  in  the  center  of  Athens. 

But  after  him  came  his  two  sons,  and  they  were  not 
so  good  as  their  father.  One  of  them  was  killed,  and 
the  other,  Hippias,  was  driven  out  of  the  country.  He 
went  to  the  Persian  court,  but  we  shall  presently  see 
that  he  came  back  to  Greece.  After  Hippias,  there  was 
one  more  friend  of  the  people,  Cleisthenes,  who  did 
much  to  help  Athens  by  giving  her  better  laws.  After 
him  the  people  were  ruled  again  by  archons,  and  it  is 
at  this  time,  490  years  before  Christ  was  born,  that  Phi- 
dippides  ran  quickly  to  Sparta  to  ask  help  against  the 
Persians. 

The  Grecian  cities  on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor  had  been 
ruled  for  several  years  by  the  Persian  king,  Cyrus,  who 
was  a  great  and  good  ruler  of  the  Persians ;  but  a  few 
years  before  this  time  Cyrus  died,  and  Darius  came  to 
be  the  ruler.  Before  the  Persians  conquered  the  Greek 
cities  in  Asia  Minor,  these  cities  had  been  ruled  by 
Croesus  of  Lydia,  the  little  country  just  east  of  them. 
He  was  kind  to  them,  but  the  Persians,  who  liked  to 
conquer  all  the  countries  about  them,  not  only  made  the 
Greeks  pay  much  money  to  them,  but  they  had  to  be 
the  Persian  king's  soldiers  as  well.  Men  who  loved 
to  rule  themselves  as  dearly  as  the  Greeks  would  not 
like  this. 

Darius,  who  now  ruled  over  Persia,  reaching  from  the 
Indus  River  to  the  ^Egean  Sea,  found  it  so  large  that  he 
needed  many  men  to  help  him  govern  it.  Many  of  the 
people  over  whom  he  ruled  were  not  at  all  like  the  real 
Persians,  but  lived  and  dressed  very  differently.    Darius 


THE   YOUTH   OF  GREECE^,  :,Jf  Vl$3 

did  not  care  for  this,  as  all  he  wanted  was  that  they 
should  pay  him  money  and  fight  his  battles.  Would 
these  men  make  as  good  soldiers  as  the  Greeks,  do  you 
think  ? 

Not  long  before  Phidippides  went  to  Sparta,  the 
Grecian  cities  in  Asia  Minor  which  Darius  ruled  had 
revolted,  and  asking  help  of  Athens  and  Eretria,  their 
near  kinsmen,  they  had  together  burned  Sardis,  one  of 
Darius'  richest  and  finest  cities  in  Asia  Minor.  This 
was  why  Darius  was  so  angry  with  Athens.  He  soon 
punished  the  colonies  on  the  coast,  and  then  shot  an 
arrow  toward  Athens,  to  show  that  he  meant  to  punish 
her  next,  but  lest  he  forget  (for  he  had  many  things 
to  do  in  his  great  empire),  he  had  a  slave  say  to  him 
each  day  at  dinner,  "  Master,  remember  the  Athenians  "  ; 
and  now  he  was  getting  ready  to  remember  them. 
He  had  sent  heralds  to  the  different  Grecian  cities, 
bidding  them  send  him  "earth  and  water"  as  a  sign 
that  they  would  serve  him.  Most  of  the  states  had 
done  so,  but  Athens  had  thrown  the  herald  who  came 
to  her  into  a  pit,  and  Sparta  had  thrown  hers  into  a 
well.  You  may  be  sure  a  great  king,  ruling  a  vast 
empire,  would  feel  very  angry  to  have  a  little  country 
like  Greece  treat  his  messengers  in  this  way. 

When  his  army  was  ready,  he  sent  it  across  the  yEgean 
Sea,  toward  Athens.  As  soon  as  Athens  heard  that 
the  Persians  were  coming  she  sent  Phidippides,  the 
fleet-footed,  as  I  have  already  told  you,  to  Sparta  for 
help ;  but  Sparta  could  send  no  aid  because  the  moon 
was  not  yet  full,  and  it  was  against  her  law  to  start  to 
battle  before  the  full  moon  ;  so  Athens  was  left  to 
meet  the  enemy  alone,  but  she  did  it  bravely. 


P04'    .-::,. ;  .'  ".  . ,  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

When  the  Persians  reached  Greece  and  landed  at 
Marathon,  led  by  the  traitor  Hippias  (you  remember  who 
he  was,  do  you  not  ? ),  they  found  a  little  army  of  the 
Athenians  gathered  upon  the  hillside  back  of  Mara- 
thon, eighteen  or  twenty  miles  northeast  of  Athens, 
under  the  Athenian  general,  Miltiades,  ready  to  meet 
them.  Without  waiting  for  the  Persians  to  begin  the 
attack,  the  Athenians,  singing,  rushed  down  into  the 
plain  on  the  enemy  so  furiously  that  the  Persians 
became  frightened  and  confused,  but  not  so  the  Greeks, 
who  fought  until  the  Persians  turned  and  fled  to  their 
ships.  The  Greeks  followed  and  destroyed  many  as 
they  tried  to  get  into  their  boats.  One  brave  Greek 
seized  a  boat  and  held  it  fast  till  his  hand  was  cut  off. 

Marathon  was  a  great  victory,  and  the  Athenians 
were  very  proud  of  it.  Just  as  the  battle  was  over,  the 
Spartans  came  up,  but  they  were  too  late  to  help  drive 
the  Persians  away.  The  Athenians  had  fought  the  great 
battle  almost  alone,  and  in  after  years  the  thought  of  it 
led  them  to  do  just  as  great  things. 

Miltiades  did  not  let  his  victorious  army  camp  on  the 
battlefield  that  night  and  enjoy  a  feast  of  the  many  good 
things  which  the  Persians  left,  but  marched  his  soldiers 
across  the  country  eighteen  miles,  without  a  halt,  back 
to  Athens.  He  thought  that  the  Persians  would  next 
try  to  capture  the  city.  The  tired  soldiers  had  only  just 
reached  home  when  they  saw  the  Persians  sail  into  the 
bay  near  Athens;  but  when  the  enemy  saw  the  same 
brave  men  who  had  the  day  before  defeated  them,  ready 
to  fight  again,  they  sailed  away  to  their  own  country  in 
Asia  as  fast  as  they  could. 

After   the   Persians   were   gone,    Miltiades   had   the 


THE    YOUTH   OF  GREECE  105 

brazen  arms  and  shields  which  had  been  captured 
from  them  melted  and  made  into  a  statue  of  the 
goddess  Athena  and  placed  on  the  Acropolis.  Darius 
was  so  sure  that  he  could  defeat  the  Greeks  that  he 
had  brought  a  great  block  of  marble  along  to  put  up 
in  the  city  as  a  monument  to  celebrate  his  victory ;  but 
it  was  used  for  a  different  purpose,  for  Phidias,  the  great 
Grecian  sculptor,  made  a  beautiful  statue  from  it. 

The  Athenians  thought  they  had  driven  the  Persians 
away  forever,  but  there  was  one  wise  man  in  Greece  — 
Themistocles  —  who  did  not  think  so.  He  thought  that 
they  would  come  again,  so  he  urged  the  Athenians  to  build 
a  great  many  new  ships  by  taxing  themselves  and  from 
the  money  of  their  gold  mines,  for  there  were  excellent 
gold  mines  near  Athens.  Another  wise  and  good  man, 
called  Aristides,  thought  they  did  not  need  any  more 
ships  and  that  it  would  be  better  to  give  the  money  to 
the  people.  Some  of  the  people  thought  as  Aristides, 
and  others  wanted  to  have  the  ships  built.  At  last  they 
saw  that  one  of  the  men,  in  order  to  keep  peace  in  the 
little  Athenian  state,  must  be  sent  away ;  so  all  the  peo- 
ple gathered  in  Athens  one  day,  and  each  wrote  on  a 
shell  the  name  of  the  man  he  wished  to  send  away. 
When  they  counted  the  names,  it  was  found  that  there 
were  six  thousand  shells  for  Aristides,  which  meant  that 
he  must  leave  his  home  and  go  into  another  country. 
This  was  called  ostracism.  It  took  this  name  from  the 
name  of  the  shell,  or  tablet,  upon  which  the  vote  was 
written.  Themistocles  then  went  on  building  the  ships 
until  the  Greeks  had  a  large  fleet. 

While  the  Greeks  were  building  their  ships,  Darius 
was  getting  another  army  ready  to  come  back  to  Greece 


106  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

He  was  so  certain  he  could  conquer  the  Greeks  that  h* 
was  going  to  try  again. 

You  see  he  did  not  know  that,  even  if  there  were 
not  many  Greeks,  they  were  very  brave  and  had  been 
well  trained  for  war.  He  did  not  know  what  excellent 
training  the  Greeks  obtained  in  their  gymnasiums  at 
Athens  and  how  the  Spartan  boys  by  severe  training, 
gathering  reeds  for  their  own  rough  beds,  hunting  on 
the  mountains,  eating  coarse  food  and  having  to  go  bare- 
foot winter  and  summer,  became  the  best  soldiers  of  the 
world  in  their  time.  The  Spartan  women,  too,  were  often 
as  brave  as  the  men.  They  said  to  their  sons,  "  Bring 
home  your  shield  or  come  home  on  it,"  which  meant 
that  they  must  never  give  up  to  the  enemy.  They 
must  either  conquer  him  or  die  fighting  him.  The  Athen- 
ians did  not  train  their  children  to  fight  quite  so  well 
as  Sparta  did,  but  they  knew  how  to  make  good  plans 
to  capture  the  enemy.  Would  these  Grecians  who 
ruled  themselves  and  loved  their  homes  and  children, 
their  little  farms  and  gods,  fight  better  than  the  Persian 
soldiers,  who  were  hired  to  fight,  and  fought  only  for 
the  king  ? 

Darius  had  gathered  together  only  part  of  the  second 
army  with  which  he  meant  to  conquer  Greece  when  he 
died,  and  his  son  Xerxes  took  his  place.  Xerxes  did 
not  want  to  fight  the  Greeks,  but  his  nobles  wished  him 
to  do  so ;  so,  after  great  preparations,  he  concluded  to 
lead  the  army  himself. 

In  gathering  together  his  army  he  sent  heralds  all 
over  his  vast  country  to  tell  the  people  to  make  ready 
for  war.  For  eight  long  years  he  gathered  together 
his  soldiers,  made  armor  and  collected  food,  built  roads 


THE  YOUTH   OF   GREECE  107 

and  trained  his  men.  Would  not  you  think  he  could 
bring  together  a  large  army  in  eight  years  ?  When 
they  were  all  gathered,  they  spent  the  winter  in  and 
about  the  city  of  Sardis  in  Asia  Minor,  which  the 
Persians  had  built  up  again  after  the  Greeks  had 
burnt  it. 

Early  in  the  spring  480  years  before  Christ,  Xerxes 
started  toward  Greece  with  his  great  army,  but  it  was 
a  motley  looking  mass  of  men.  The  king  rode  in  his 
chariot,  which  was  drawn  by  eight  white  horses.  In 
his  gorgeous  dress  and  chariot  it  must  have  been  a 
beautiful  sight.  On  either  side  of  Xerxes  were  his  best 
soldiers,  the  Immortals.  Those  who  fought  on  foot 
wore  coats  of  mail  made  of  metal  or  quilted  linen,  which 
covered  all  the  body  except  the  head.  They  had  also 
shields  made  of  wicker-work,  which  were  set  in  front  of 
them,  from  behind  which  they  shot  with  bow  and  arrow. 
Those  who  rode  on  horseback  had  coats  of  mail  to 
cover  the  entire  body,  and  these  men  carried  a  sword 
and  knife  for  weapons.  But  besides  the  Immortals 
there  were  many  who  could  not  fight  so  well.  Some 
were  dressed  in  leopard  skins  and  carried  bows  made 
of  the  ribs  of  palm  leaves.  Their  arrows  were  reeds 
tipped  with  small,  sharp  stones,  and  some  had  only 
clubs  with  which  to  fight.  Others  had  a  lasso  and 
long  knife,  while  still  others  had  short  darts  and  knives. 
Some  of  the  wilder  tribes  tried  to  protect  their  heads 
with  wooden  hats,  but  had  no  protection  whatever  for 
their  bodies. 

Xerxes,  with  his  mighty  army,  marched  westward 
across  the  country  to  the  Hellespont,  where  he  had 
had  a  bridge  of  boats  built  for  his  army  to  cross  on. 


I08  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

It  took  a  long  time  for  all  the  soldiers  to  cross,  but  at 
last  they  were  all  over  and  marched  toward  Greece. 

While  Xerxes  was  leading  this  part  of  his  army 
around  to  the  north,  the  Persian  fleet  had  crossed  the 
^Egean  Sea  to  help  him  capture  the  Grecians. 

When  the  Athenians  heard  that  Xerxes  was  coming, 
they  were  filled  with  fear.  Miltiades,  who  had  led  them 
at  Marathon,  was  dead,  and  they  did  not  know  who  could 
lead  them  to  victory  now.  Finally  they  sent  for  Aristides, 
who,  you  remember,  had  been  sent  away  by  ostracism. 
Runners  were  sent  from  Athens  all  over  Greece  to  ask 
aid  of  the  different  states,  but  nearly  all  the  people  were 
at  the  Olympic  games.  Finally  the  Spartans  promised 
to  send  some  soldiers  to  the  narrow  pass  of  Thermopylae, 
which  was  a  narrow  road,  just  wide  enough  for  a  chariot 
to  creep  between  the  mountains  and  the  sea,  leading 
into  central  Greece.  So  Leonidas,  with  three  hundred 
of  the  bravest  Spartans  and  seven  hundred  Thespians, 
stationed  himself  there  to  meet  the  Persians. 

Leonidas  had  not  been  at  the  pass  long  before  Xerxes 
came.  When  Xerxes  saw  so  few  men,  he  sent  a  mes- 
senger to  ask  the  Spartans  to  give  up  their  arms.  Leon- 
idas sent  him  word  to  "  come  and  take  them."  Then 
Leonidas  and  his  men  put  on  their  finest  armor,  combed 
their  long  hair,  and  played  at  games  in  the  sunshine. 
Xerxes  thought  the  Greeks  were  crazy  when  he  saw 
them  combing  their  long  hair,  but  a  traitor  Spartan  in 
Xerxes'  camp  told  him  they  always  did  so  before  a 
dangerous  battle,  and  it  did  not  mean  they  were  careless 
but  determined  to  fight  to  the  last.  Xerxes  then  sent 
some  of  his  troops  against  them,  but  they  had  to  fall 
back;    this   happened   again   and   again,    and   perhaps 


THE  YOUTH   OF  GREECE  109 

Leonidas  could  have  kept  the  Persians  back  until  the 
rest  of  the  Greeks  returned  from  the  games,  had  not  a 
traitor  gone  to  Xerxes  and  for  money  offered  to  show 
him  a  path  which  led  over  the  mountains  and  behind 
Leonidas,  who  had  placed  only  a  few  men  to  guard  it. 

Led  by  the  traitor,  the  Persians  came  to  the  guards 
of  the  path,  whom  they  soon  killed,  and  then  they 
marched  down  the  mountain  side  toward  Leonidas.  It 
was  yet  early  morning,  and  there  was  still  time  for  all 
the  Greeks  to  escape.  Leonidas  told  his  men  that  all 
might  go  except  the  Spartans.  "We,"  said  he,  "must 
stay."  Yet  he  knew  that  all  who  remained  would  be 
killed.  The  Thespians,  who  lived  in  a  little  city  not  far 
away,  however,  refused  to  go.  They  were  brave,  too. 
All  day  long  this  handful  of  men,  clothed  in  brass 
from  head  to  foot,  and  armed  with  spears,  fought 
against  the  mighty  Persian  hosts,  and  at  night  not  one 
of  Leonidas'  brave  men  was  left.  This,  as  I  have  told 
you,  was  just  ten  years  after  the  battle  of  Marathon  and 
four  hundred  and  eighty  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ. 
It  looked  discouraging  when  the  mighty  Persian  host 
marched  through  the  pass  and  came  on  toward  Athens. 
Do  you  think  the  Persians  will  now  conquer  Greece  ? 

When  the  Persians  had  gained  the  victory  at  Ther- 
mopylae, Xerxes,  as  I  said,  marched  on  toward  Athens. 
The  people  of  that  city  fled,  and  not  knowing  what  to  do 
they  asked  advice  of  their  god,  Apollo,  at  Delphi.  The 
answer  was,  "The  wooden  walls  will  defend  you  and 
your  children."  The  Greeks  were  not  sure  what  this 
meant,  but  Themistocles  said  it  meant  for  them  to  go 
into  their  ships,  which  you  remember  he  had  already 
persuaded  the  Athenians  to  build, 


110  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

All  the  women  and  children  were  put  on  ships  and 
sent  away  from  Athens  to  the  southern  part  of  Greece ; 
then  the  warriors  made  the  rest  of  the  ships  ready  to 
fight  in  the  bay  of  Salamis.  The  people  had  just  left 
the  city  when  Xerxes  marched  into  Athens  and  burned 
it.  His  ships  had  not  helped  him  much  yet,  but  he 
thought  they  could  surely  defeat  the  little  Greek  fleet 
which  he  saw  in  the  bay  of  Salamis,  west  of  Athens,  so 
he  had  a  throne  built  on  a  mountain,  not  far  from 
Salamis,  that  he  might  watch  the  battle. 

The  Greeks  fought  so  bravely  and  so  well  that  they 
cut  the  Persian  fleet  all  to  pieces.  Xerxes  became 
frightened,  and  taking  most  of  his  army,  fled  to  Persia. 
He  left  quite  a  large  number,  however,  in  Greece,  under 
his  general,  Mardonius;  and  not  very  long  after,  the 
Greeks  fought  another  battle  with  him  at  Plateae.  In 
this  battle  the  Greeks  were  completely  successful ;  and 
when  Mardonius  saw  that  he  was  defeated,  he  ran  away 
with  the  men  he  had  left,  leaving  great  riches  on  the 
battlefield.  The  Greeks  were  glad  to  see  him  leave  for 
Persia,  for  they  thought  that  the  Persians  would  never 
come  again. 

Thus,  you  see,  this  brave  little  country  had  defeated 
a  country  forty  times  as  large,  and  by  doing  so  prevented 
a  king  who  cared  nothing  for  common  people  from 
crushing  out  the  liberty-loving  Greeks.  It  made  them 
very  proud  of  themselves,  and  made  them  feel  as  if  they 
could  do  great  deeds.  If  the  little  city-states  of  Greece 
could  now  have  been  less  selfish,  and  had  all  worked 
together,  they  might  have  done  even  more  than  they 
did.  It  was  a  pity  they  never  could  learn  to  work 
together.     But  even  as  it  was,  Athens  now  grew  rapidly 


THE   YOUTH   OF  GREECE  III 

and  did  wonderful  things,  and  of  these  things  we  will 
next  study. 

References 

Botsford:  A  History  of  Greece ;  Macmillan  Co.,  N.Y. 

Plutarch  :  Lives  ;  A.  L.  Burt  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

Oman  :  A  History  of  Greece ;  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

Felton  :    Ancient  and  Modern  Greece;    Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co., 

Boston. 
Mahaffy  :  Survey  of  Greek  Civilization  ;  Macmillan  Co.,  N.Y. 
Myers  and  Allen  :  Ancient  History ;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Harding  :  Greek  Gods,  Heroes,  and  Men ;   Scott,  Foresman  &  Co., 

Chicago. 
Kemp  :  Outlines  of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools;   Ginn 

&  Co.,  Boston. 
Study   biographies  of  Solon,   Lycurgus,   Leonidas,   Themistocles, 

Aristides. 


A   VISIT   TO   ATHENS  WHEN    GREECE  WAS 
IN    HER   GREATEST    BEAUTY 

When  the  Persians  were  at  last  driven  away  from 
Greece  the  people  had  time  to  look  around  and  see 
what  had  been  done  to  their  country.  Do  you  not 
think  it  must  have  been  discouraging  for  them  to  come 
back  and  find  their  homes  and  temples  all  burned  down  ? 
They  must  now  begin  all  over  and  make  a  new  city.  It 
was  surprising  to  see  how  quickly  this  was  done. 

One  thing  that  helped  them  make  Athens  more 
beautiful  than  it  had  ever  been  before  was  this  very 
war.  Let  me  tell  you  how  this  was.  All  those  cities 
in  the  ^Egean  Sea  and  in  Asia  Minor  that  we  have 
spoken  of  were  now  free  from  Persia,  but  they  were 
still  afraid  of  the  great  Persian  king.  They  thought 
Athens  the  strongest  city  of  Greece,  and  wanted  her  to 
help  them.  So  Athens  and  about  two  hundred  of  the 
cities  around  and  in  the  ^Egean  Sea  joined  in  a  league, 
with  Athens  at  the  head.  Another  league  was  formed 
of  the  cities  in  southern  Greece  with  Sparta  at  the 
head.  Once  a  year  men  from  each  of  these  leagues 
met  on  the  island  of  Delos  to  worship  and  to  talk  over 
important  things  about  the  union.  If  any  of  the  cities 
had  warships,  they  gave  them  to  Athens  to  use ;  or  if 
they  had  none,  they  gave  money  each  year,  and  Athens 
built  ships  with  it.     This  money  was  kept  in  Apollo's 


A  VISIT  TO  ATHENS  113 

temple,  on  the  island  of  Delos,  and  the  temple  grew 
very  rich.  But  after  a  while  Athens  had  as  many  ships 
as  she  thought  she  needed,  and  as  the  Persians  did  not 
come  back  again,  she  began  to  use  this  money  to  build 
up  her  own  city.  Thus  you  see  how  this  war  helped  to 
make  Athens  more  beautiful  than  she  had  ever  been 
before.  Besides  making  her  people  free  and  proud  of 
their  city,  it  gave  them  plenty  of  money  to  use. 

I  want  to  tell  you  now  about  a  great  man  who  lived 
in  Athens  at  this  time,  and  did  more  than  any  one 
else  to  make  the  city  great  and  beautiful.  His  name 
was  Pericles.  He  was  a  very  handsome  man,  but  that 
is  not  why  we  remember  him.  He  was  such  a  fine 
speaker  that  he  generally  made  the  Athenians  believe 
what  he  said,  and  he  easily  led  them  to  do  what  he 
wanted  them  to  do.  But  even  that  is  not  the  great 
thing.  It  is  because,  he  got  them  to  do  so  many  wise 
things  and  made  Athens  great  as  well  as  himself,  that 
we  remember  him.  Pericles  had  many  wonderful  build- 
ings erected;  some  of  them  I  want  to  tell  you  about. 
I  wish  I  might  take  you  there  and  let  you  see  them 
all  as  they  were.  If  we  could  really  go  to  Athens,  we 
could  see  only  the  ruins  of  many  of  them,  and  often  only 
the  places  where  some  stood ;  for  you  must  remember 
that  Pericles  has  been  dead  more  than  two  thousand 
years,  and  the  beautiful  buildings  he  had  built  are,  many 
of  them,  crumbling  to  pieces,  and  some  of  them  are 
entirely  gone.  Since  we  cannot  see  them,  let  us, 
with  the  help  of  our  pictures  and  what  I  can  tell  you 
from  books  I  have  read,  try  to  get  some  idea  of  what 
Athens  was  like  when  Pericles  lived. 

You   remember   the  Acropolis,    of   course,   but   you 


114  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

would  hardly  know  it  now.  You  must  imagine  it  in  the 
southwestern  part  of  the  city,  a  steep,  high  hill  a  thou- 
sand feet  long  and  five  hundred  wide,  with  walls  around 
the  top  to  make  it  still  steeper,  so  that  no  enemy  could 
climb  up  the  sides.  Pericles  had  a  flight  of  steps  built 
up  on  the  west  side.  They  were  seventy-one  feet  wide, 
rose  by  a  gentle  slope  upward  and  were  easy  to  climb. 

Let  us  imagine  ourselves  at  the  foot  of  these  steps, 
ready  to  go  up  and  look  at  Athens  in  all  her  beauty. 
Can  you  think  how  it  would  really  seem  to  be  there,  with 
marble  buildings  and  statues  all  around  us  ?  Now  we 
will  climb  the  steps,  and  when  we  come  to  the  top  we 
will  pass  into  what  they  call  a  colonnade,  which  is 
much  like  a  long  path,  bordered  with  beautiful  columns 
and  covered  over ;  in  fact,  it  was  just  two  long  rows  of  tall, 
beautiful  columns  holding  up  a  roof.  The  gateways  open- 
ing into  this  colonnade  were  called  the  Propylaea,  and 
the  Greeks  were  very  proud  of  them,  for  they  formed  most 
beautiful  openings  leading  up  to  the  doors  of  the  temples. 

After  we  pass  through  the  Propylaea,  we  find  our- 
selves on  top  of  the  Acropolis,  facing  the  east,  for  we 
came  up  the  west  side.  Almost  in  front  of  us  is  a  great 
image  of  Athena,  who,  you  remember,  was  Athens'  best- 
loved  goddess.  This  image,  or  statue,  as  it  was  called, 
was  so  tall  that  men  far  out  at  sea,  miles  away  from 
Athens,  could  see  it.  It  made  the  Athenians  very  happy 
to  feel  that  Athena  was  thus  watching  over  them  and 
ready  to  help  them.  On  our  right  hand,  still  facing  east, 
was  the  most  beautiful  temple  of  Greece,  and  indeed, 
though  there  have  been  many  greater  ones,  there  has 
never  been  another  one  built  in  the  world  quite  so 
graceful  and  pleasing.     The  pictures   I   have  for  you 


A  VISIT   TO  ATHENS  115 

to  see  will  give  you  a  better  idea  of  how  it  looked  than 
my  words  will.  It  was  built  in  honor  of  and  as  the 
home  of  Athena,  and  was  called*  the  Parthenon.  It 
was  226  feet  long,  101  feet  wide,  and  it  took  sixteen 
years  to  build  it.  A  little  distance  away,  it  looks  as 
if  it  were  mostly  rows  of  columns  and  not  much  build- 
ing, but  there  are  two  large  rooms,  which  are  surrounded 
by  the  columns  you  see,  —  one  is  used  in  which  to  store 
the  gold  belonging  to  the  Delian  league  of  which  I 
told  you  a  little  while  ago.  It  is  kept  in  Athens  now, 
instead  of  at  Delos.  In  the  second  room  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  statues  that  was  ever  made.  You  would 
know  right  away  it  was  Athena,  by  her  helmet  and  shield 
and  the  serpent  coiled  at  her  feet.  It  was  made  of  ivory 
and  gold,  by  Phidias,  one  of  the  very  greatest  artists  of 
the  world,  who  could  carve  marble  or  ivory  into  most 
beautiful  shapes  of  men,  women  and  animals.  In  many 
places  on  the  Parthenon  we  can  find  Phidias'  work. 
Here  at  the  end,  right  under  the  roof,  is  some,  and  inside, 
clear  around  the  rooms  I  told  you  of,  is  a  broad  strip  of 
carved  work  which  he  did.  Over  on  another  part  of  the 
Acropolis  is  another  very  beautiful  temple,  called  the 
Erechtheum,  because  it  was  built  for  the  god  Erechtheus. 
One  odd  as  well  as  beautiful  part  of  it  was  the  porches, 
which  instead  of  pillars  to  hold  them  up  had  figures  of 
beautiful  maidens  carved  in  stone.  You  can  see  them 
here  in  the  picture.  We  could  stay  a  long  time  on  the 
Acropolis,  because,  though  not  very  large,  it  has  a  great 
many  things  to  see;  but  let  us  pass  again  through  the 
Propylasa,  down  the  steps  and  into  the  city,  for  I  want 
you  to  see  some  other  wonderful  things  which  Pericles 
gave  to  Athens. 


Il6  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

You  will  be  interested  in  what  the  boys  of  Athens 
are  doing,  so  I  will  take  you  now  to  a  gymnasium,  for 
the  Greeks  loved  a  straight,  healthy  body  quite  as 
much  as  a  beautiful  building  or  statue.  Pericles  was 
one  who  believed  that  Athens  needed  strong,  brave, 
perfect  men,  and  the  best  way  he  knew  to  get  them 
was  to  train  together  both  the  bodies  and  minds  of  the 
boys.  So  he  did  all  he  could  to  make  their  gymnasiums 
beautiful,  and  fitted  them  up  with  everything  they  needed 
in  their  exercises.  They  were  all  outside  the  city,  so  we 
will  have  to  leave  Athens  to  see  them.  All  the  Athenian 
boys  are  sent  to  the  gymnasium  as  soon  as  they  are  old 
enough,  and  they  spend  the  whole  day,  from  sunrise  to 
sunset,  there.  What  do  they  all  do  there?  I  cannot 
begin  to  tell  you  all  of  it.  They  have  teachers,  who 
teach  them  the  different  exercises  that  are  to  make  them 
strong  and  manly  as  well  as  beautiful ;  and  the  Greeks 
believed  that  to  have  a  beautiful  mind  one  must  have  also 
a  beautiful  body.  They  are  stripped  in  the  gymnasium 
of  all  their  clothing,  for  the  Athenian  boys  must  learn  to 
bear  the  hot  sun  or  the  cold  winds  without  flinching; 
but  you  remember  that  the  climate  of  Greece  was  gener- 
ally very  delightful,  neither  very  cold  nor  very  hot.  In 
one  part  of  the  gymnasium  is  a  race  course,  sprinkled 
several  inches  deep  with  loose  sand,  where  the  boys  race 
with  each  other;  not  very  easy  work,  do  you  think  ?  The 
sand  is  put  there  on  purpose  to  make  it  hard  for  them 
to  run.  In  another  place  you  see  boys  getting  ready  to 
wrestle ;  their  bodies  are  oiled,  then  sprinkled  over  with 
fine  sand,  so  they  can  hold  each  other  better.  This  is 
rough  work,  but  it  exercises  the  whole  body,  and  so  is 
good  for  health  and  strength.     We  must  not  stop  to  see 


A  VISIT   TO   ATHENS  117 

the  other  work  now,  but  I  may  tell  you  that  besides 
these  exercises  they  are  taught  among  others  to  box, 
throw  the  spear,  jump,  wrestle  and  run  races.  But  the 
Greeks  did  not  like  a  man  who  could  use  only  his  body 
and  not  his  mind,  so  they  wanted  their  boys  taught  more 
than  bodily  exercise.  All  around  three  sides  of  the 
gymnasium  were  halls,  with  seats  in  them,  where  people 
could  sit  and  talk.  If  you  come  with  me  to  one  of 
these  halls,  you  will  see  one  of  the  most  interesting 
things  in  Greece,  and  I  believe  you  will  think  it  a  fine 
kind  of  school.  Here  is  a  group  of  boys  gathered 
around  a  man  who  is  talking  to  them  in  a  very  plain, 
friendly  way.  Does  that  look  like  a  school?  Not  much 
like  our  schools,  you  will  say.  Before  we  join  the  group 
I  will  tell  you  a  little  about  the  teacher,  so  you  will  under- 
stand better  what  they  are  doing.  He  is  one  of  the  men 
whom  the  Greeks  call  philosophers,  which  means  lovers 
of  knowledge.  These  men  spend  their  lives  trying 
to  find  out  the  truth  about  everything.  They  wish  to 
know  how  the  world  came  to  be,  what  men  ought  to 
live  for,  and  how  a  man  should  act  in  order  that  his 
life  may  be  made  best  worth  living.  They  meet  the 
boys  and  young  men  and  talk  about  these  things 
with  them.  The  boys  ask  them  questions,  and  they 
answer  the  best  they  can,  and  ask  questions  of  the 
boys  in  turn.  These  philosophers,  especially  those 
like  the  one  I  am  going  to  tell  you  about,  because  they 
thought  so  much  of  simple  life  and  were  interested  in 
common  plain  people  wherever  they  met  them,  were 
much  like  our  great  Lincoln.  Now  we  will  go  and  see 
what  this  group  is  talking  about.  You  must  not  laugh 
at  the  odd  look  of  the  teacher.     He  does  not  look  like 


Il8  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

a  Greek,  for  he  is  very  ugly.  His  body  is  heavy  and 
not  at  all  a  good  shape,  his  nose  is  flat,  and  his 
eyes  bulge  out,  and  roll  about  in  a  very  strange  way. 
He  is  not  at  all  well  dressed,  but  these  boys  all  seem  to 
love  him  dearly ;  and  after  we  listen  a  while  and  hear  his 
fine  lesson,  showing  that  the  beauty  which  springs  from 
a  well-trained  mind  is  the  greatest  and  truest  beauty 
one  can  have,  you  forget  how  ugly  he  is,  and  wish  you 
were  an  Athenian  boy,  and  might  come,  when  your 
lesson  in  the  gymnasium  is  over,  and  talk  to  this  won- 
derful man.  Do  you  know  the  name  of  this  great 
teacher?  It  is  Socrates,"  the  greatest  philosopher  of 
Greece.  We  must  not  think  when  we  leave  the  gym- 
nasium and  go  back  to  the  city  we  shall  not  see  Socrates 
again,  for  he  is  everywhere,  from  day  to  day,  —  in  the 
streets  or  wherever  he  finds  young  men  ready  to  listen 
and  to  talk  about  temperance,  or  play,  or  oratory,  or  elo- 
quence, or  any  question  about  how  to  get  most  pleasure 
and  profit  out  of  life.  He  begins  always  by  saying  some- 
thing that  causes  those  who  hear  him  to  listen  and 
think,  and  before  they  know  it  he  has  them  taking  a 
lively  part  in  the  discussion.  As  you  cannot  stay  long 
in  Athens,  I  will  tell  you,  before  we  go  on,  what  is  to 
become  of  Socrates  at  last.  It  is  very  sad.  He  is  never 
afraid  to  tell  people  when  they  are  wrong ;  and  he  thinks 
many  things  men  do  are  wrong,  and  tells  them  so.  For 
this  reason  many  people  dislike  him,  and  finally  they 
say  that  he  does  not  truly  worship  the  Greek  gods,  and 
that  he  teaches  the  young  men  bad  habits,  because  some 
of  his  pupils  are  very  bad  men.  This  is  not  because  of 
what  Socrates  teaches  them,  but  because  they  do  not 
follow  what  he  teaches.     But  the  people  do  not  believe 


A   VISIT  TO   ATHENS  1 19 

this,  and  they  say  he  must  die.  So  they  compel  him  to 
drink  a  cup  of  poison,  and  he  takes  it  very  bravely, 
with  his  sorrowing  pupils  about  him,  calmly  teaching 
them  to  the  very  last  how  to  live  a  true  life  in  this 
world,  and  giving  them  some  of  the  best  reasons  for 
believing  in  a  life  after  death. 

Where  shall  we  go  next  ?  I  wonder  if  you  would  not 
like  to  see  where  the  laws  of  Athens  are  made.  Come, 
then,  let  us  see  which  way  to  go.  We  can  always  find 
the  Acropolis,  so  let  us  start  from  there.  We  go  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  west,  when  we  come  to  a  large  plat- 
form which  has  been  built  in  an  open  square.  It  is 
called  the  Pnyx.  Here  all  the  citizens  of  Athens  who 
are  over  eighteen  years  of  age  meet  and  pass  laws  for 
the  city;  for  Athens  is  a  democracy  now,  in  Pericles' 
time,  and  all  the  people  help  to  rule  the  little  state. 
There  is  a  meeting  of  the  Assembly,  as  it  is  called, 
about  forty  times  a  year,  or  oftener,  if  it  is  needed.  On 
Assembly  days  the  citizens  meet  by  daybreak,  for  the 
Athenians  believe  in  getting  up  early.  Sacrifices  are 
offered  to  the  gods  first,  then  the  omens  are  taken,  and 
then  business  begins.  Some  man  is  leader,  and  he 
rules  the  meeting  for  that  day.  Socrates  was  often 
leader  of  the  Assembly  and  often  kept  the  people  from 
doing  hasty  and  wrong  things.  Any  one  has  a  right  to 
talk  in  this  meeting,  only  he  must  come  out  in  front  and 
stand  on  a  large  block  of  stone  while  he  talks.  This  is 
called  the  "  bema  stone."  Some  one  proposes  something 
which  he  wants  the  people  to  do.  To-day  they  are  to 
decide  whether  or  not  they  shall  pay  the  citizens  who 
come  to  the  Assembly  to  vote.  Some  are  against  it, 
saying  that  those  who  love  their  country  should  serve  it 


120  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

without  pay ;  others  are  for  it,  saying  that  only  the  rich 
people  can  afford  to  give  their  time.  So  the  discussion 
goes  on,  each  one  as  he  speaks  coming  forward  and 
mounting  the  bema  stone.  Finally  Pericles  comes  for- 
ward to  speak,  and  all  are  eager  to  hear.  He  speaks  in 
favor  of  paying  the  citizens,  not  only  for  attending  the 
Assembly,  but  also  favors  giving  tickets  to  the  theater 
to  those  who  could  not  afford  to  buy  them;  for  the 
theater  to  the  Greek  was  a  great  source  of  education, 
and  Pericles  wished  everybody  to  have  an  equal  chance 
for  education  ;  so  finally  the  vote  is  taken,  and  they 
decide  to  pay  the  citizens  for  serving  on  juries,  attend- 
ing the  Assembly  and  the  like,  and  also  to  give  the 
people  tickets  to  the  theater.  A  government  in  which 
all  the  people  come  together  like  this  and  discuss  mat- 
ters and  decide  them  is  called  a  pure  democracy.  You 
notice  they  vote  by  holding  up  their  hands, — that  is  one 
reason  they  never  hold  meetings  after  dark.  They  have 
no  good  way  of  lighting  as  we  have.  Did  you  know 
that  the  man  who  proposed  the  law  they  were  discussing 
to-day  was  not  just  an  ordinary  member  of  the  Assem- 
bly ?  He  is  what  is  called  a  Councilor.  The  Council 
is  made  up  of  five  hundred  men  from  the  different 
tribes.  These  men  meet  every  day  and  talk  over  laws, 
and  the  Assembly  can  vote  only  on  the  questions  which 
the  Council  has  already  talked  over.  The  man  who 
ruled  the  Assembly  was  also  appointed  by  the  Council. 

I  told  you  the  Council  met  every  day.  That  is  not 
quite  right.  Twice  a  year  they  have  no  meetings ;  those 
are  the  feast  times  of  the  year.  One  thing  about  these 
feast  times  you  must  see  before  you  leave  Athens. 

We  will  go  to  the  Acropolis  again  and  pass  around 


A   VISIT   TO   ATHENS  121 

to  the  southwest  side,  and  look  at  the  great  Greek 
theater.  Does  it  not  remind  you  of  the  way  the  amphi- 
theater at  the  fair  is  built  ?  But  there  is  much  difference  ; 
here  the  seats  are  steps  cut  in  the  rocky  hillside,  and 
are  made  of  marble.  They  are  arranged  in  a  half- 
circle,  and  down  on  the  level  ground  is  what  we  would 
call  the  stage,  where  the  singing  and  acting  took  place. 
The  Greeks  did  not  go  to  the  theater  just  to  have  a 
pleasant  time,  as  we  do.  It  was  like  going  to  church  to 
them.  They  did  it  in  honor  of  their  gods.  This  one 
where  we  now  are  is  built  in  honor  of'Dionysius,  one 
of  their  gods.  Men  who  write  plays  have  them  acted 
at  these  feast  times,  and  there  are  judges  to  see  which 
one  is  the  best.  Before  daylight  on  feast  days  people 
begin  coming  to  the  theater  to  get  good  seats.  The 
great  people  and  officers  and  judges,  have  special  seats. 
The  people  bring  fruit  and  cakes  along  for  lunch,  for 
they  expect  to  stay  all  day.  The  play  begins,  and 
everybody  listens  very  closely.  The  actors  do  not 
have  a  very  easy  time  unless  they  are  very  good,  for 
if  they  so  much  as  pronounce  a  word  wrong,  the  people 
hiss  at  them  and  pelt  them  with  figs  and  raisins.  But 
if  they  are  pleased,  they  show  it  just  as  plainly.  After 
one  part  of  a  play  is  finished,  the  people  rest  a  little, 
then  another  one  begins,  and  so  on  all  day  long. 
Nearly  every  one  in  Athens  is  there :  think  what  a  large 
place  this  theater  is!  It  would  hold  thirty  thousand 
people.  It  is  not  easy  for  the  actors  to  speak  so  as  to 
be  heard  by  so  many  people  in  the  open  air,  and  they 
use  a  kind  of  speaking  trumpet  to  speak  through ;  then 
they  wear  what  they  call  masks,  which  are  like  false 
faces  and  cover  their  heads  entirely.     With  these  masks 


122  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

they  can  make  themselves  look  like  any  one  they  choose. 
They  are  so  far  away  from  many  of  the  people  that 
they  look  very  small,  so  they  wear  shoes  with  very  thick 
soles  and  use  a  great  many  ways  of  making  themselves 
look  large.  Some  of  the  greatest  Greek  poets  wrote 
plays  to  be  acted  in  this  theater ;  and  we  read  and  study 
to-day  in  the  colleges  in  our  country,  the  very  plays 
these  Greeks  are  going  to  see. 

There  are  many  more  things  it  would  delight  us  to 
see  in  Athens,  but  there  is  one  thing  you  must  yet  see 
in  Greece  befofe  we  leave  it.  Afterward  you  may  take 
these  books  and  read  about  them  for  yourselves. 

In  the  southwestern  part  of  Greece,  near  the  shore 
of  the  sea,  in  a  little  river  valley,  is  a  place  called 
Olympia,  in  the  country  of  Elis,  which  every  Greek 
knew  about.  Every  fourth  year,  from  all  over  Greece, 
people  went  to  Olympia  for  the  games.  They  came  in 
the  very  hottest  part  of  summer,  in  what  we  would  call 
July  or  August,  though  the  Greeks  did  not  have  those 
names  for  months.  During  the  time  of  these  games 
no  Greek  state  could  be  at  war  with  another,  and  Elis 
was  to  be  protected  by  all.  The  roads  that  led  to 
Olympia  were  repaired  and  made  safe  for  travelers. 
You  remember,  at  the  time  of  the  battles  of  Marathon 
and  Thermopylae,  the  Spartans  would  hardly  send 
help  because  they  were  then  holding  their  games.  Like 
the  plays  at  the  theater,  these  games  were  in  honor  of 
a  god.  Those  at  Olympia  were  in  honor  of  Zeus,  the 
king  of  gods.  There  was  no  real  town  at  Olympia, 
with  hotels  or  places  for  the  people  to  stay  in,  so  the 
crowds  lived  in  tents  during  the  games.  They  came 
to  Olympia  from  all  over  Greece,  the  islands  of  the 


A  VISIT   TO   ATHENS  123 

yEgean,  Asia  Minor,  Italy,  everywhere  that  Greeks 
were  to  be  found.  They  brought  animals  with  them  to 
sacrifice  to  the  gods.  Now  we  will  imagine  we  have 
gone  to  the  games.  We  are  not  the  first  ones  there, 
for  people  whose  friends  are  going  to  take  part  have 
been  here  a  month  or  so  already,  and  the  people  who 
are  to  be  in  the  games  have  been  here  ten  months 
already,  practicing  in  the  gymnasium  at  Olympia.  On 
the  eleventh  day  of  the  month  the  games  begin.  We 
must  be  on  hand  early  if  we  get  a  place.  It  will  be  a 
long  day,  the  sun  is  hot,  and  it  is  dusty.  We  must  not 
wear  hats,  because  it  is  not  thought  respectful  to  the 
gods  to  wear  hats  at  these  games.  This  first  day 
sacrifices  of  oxen  and  sheep  and  goats  are  to  be  offered 
to  the  gods,  and  the  people  who  are  to  take  part  are 
to  draw  lots,  and  thus  decide  when  their  time  comes. 
Very  little  else  will  be  done  on  this  day.  The  second  day 
the  boys  have  their  games,  and  run  and  wrestle  and  box 
and  do  many  of  the  things  they  have  been  taught  in 
the  gymnasiums  at  home.  But  the  third  day  is  the  great 
day,  for  then  the  men  have  their  contests.  They  do 
about  the  same  things  that  the  boys  did,  only  ever  so 
much  better.  Thus  the  games  continue  for  another  day ; 
then  on  the  fifth  day  there  will  be  many  processions 
and  feasts  for  the  victors.  Those  who  win  are  shown 
the  highest  possible  honor,  for  to  win  in  the  Olympian 
games  is  thought  to  be  the  greatest  thing  a  Greek  can 
do.  The  winners  are  crowned  with  branches  of  olive, 
cut  with  a  golden  knife  by  a  lad  from  the  sacred  wild- 
olive  tree  of  Olympia,  and  palm  branches  are  placed 
within  their  hands.  They  are  then  shown  to  the  people 
while  their  names  are  proclaimed  aloud  by  a  herald, 


124  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

and  their  fathers'  names  also,  and  the  country  from 
which  they  come.  When  they  go  home,  they  are  treated 
with  the  highest  honor.  A  piece  of  the  city  wall  is 
torn  down,  so  they  need  not  come  in  like  common  peo- 
ple, and  to  show  that  if  all  the  citizens  were  as  strong  as 
the  victor,  the  city  would  not  need  walls ;  their  statues 
will  be  put  up  in  the  market  place,  and  all  the  rest  of 
their  lives  they  will  be  treated  with  the  greatest  respect. 

Do  the  Athenians  ever  work,  you  ask,  or  do  they  spend 
all  their  time  in  the  gymnasiums,  theater,  and  games  ? 
Well,  the  real  Athenian  does  not  do  much  work,  for  the 
work  on  the  farms  and  in  the  city  is  done  mostly  by 
slaves.  Greece  did  not  have  so  many  slaves  at  first  in 
the  time  of  Homer,  or  even  when  she  was  fighting  her 
brave  battles  with  Persia,  and  what  slaves  she  did  have 
had  a  pretty  easy  time  ;  but  in  the  time  of  Pericles  there 
are  perhaps  ten  slaves  to  every  freeman,  and  the 
story  of  how  they  lived  would  be  very  sad  indeed.  The 
Athenian  thinks  it  is  his  chief  work  to  make  the  laws, 
write  poems,  carve  statues,  build  temples,  attend  games 
and  fight  the  battles  of  Athens,  not  to  plow  her  fields 
or  row  her  triremes. 

Now  our  short  visit  to  Athens  is  over,  but  we  shall 
yet  study  about  some  of  the  great  men  of  Greece  in 
Pericles'  time.  We  have  seen  her  at  the  time  when  she 
was  most  beautiful,  for  before  Pericles  died  a  dreadful 
war  broke  out  between  Athens  and  Sparta,  which  lasted 
thirty  years ;  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  Athens  was 
forced  to  tear  down  her  walls,  give  up  her  ships,  and 
was  never  again  the  ruler  of  Greece.  But  we  have  seen 
in  this  little  visit  many  of  the  beautiful  things  which 
Athens  made ;  and  though  Athens  is  soon  overcome  by 


A  VISIT   TO  ATHENS  125 

other  rulers,  the  sculpture  and  architecture  and  poetry 
and  philosophy  which  she  worked  out  so  carefully 
and  so  wisely  was  not  lost  but  spread  out  all  over  the 
Eastern  world  by  Alexander.  This  we  will  presently 
study  about;  and  finally  in  the  sixth  grade,  when  we 
study  the  Renascence,  we  shall  see  how  all  this  beauty 
was  carried  westward  into  Europe.  And  we  shall  further 
see  in  the  eighth  grade  how  we,  in  America,  when  we 
build  a  beautiful  building,  or  place  a  statue  in  our  homes, 
or  in  a  public  library,  or  museum,  or  schoolroom,  or 
when  we  paint  a  beautiful  picture,  or  write  a  fine  poem, 
or  make  our  own  bodies  straight  and  strong,  and  fit 
places  for  the  growth  of  fine  minds,  that  we  have 
learned  how  to  do  very  much  of  all  this  from  these 
happy,  free,  art-loving  Greeks.  The  little  country  of 
Greece  did  not  teach  as  great  a  lesson  of  religion  as 
the  Jews  taught,  or  trade  over  so  much  of  the  world 
as  little  Phoenicia,  but  they  taught  lessons  of  how  to 
think  and  speak  clearly,  and  how  to  carve,  build  and 
write  so  beautifully  that  the  whole  world  still  turns  to 
Greece  as  its  greatest  teacher  in  these  things. 


References 

Blumner  :   The  Home  Life  of  the  Ancient  Greeks ;   Cassell  &  Co., 

N.Y. 
Mahaffy  :  Old  Greek  Life ;  American  Bk.  Co.,  Cincinnati. 
Botsford  :  A  History  of  Greece;  Macmillan  Co.,  N.Y. 
Grant  :  The  Periclean  Age ;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 
Oman  :  A  History  of  Greece;  Longmans,  Green  &  Co,  N.Y. 
Myers  and  Allen  :  Ancient  History;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Guerber  :  Story  of  the  Greeks ;  American  Bk.  Co.,  Cincinnati. 
Plutarch  :  Biography  of  Pericles;  A.  L.  Burt,  N.Y. 


1 26  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

Harding  :  Greek  Gods,  Heroes,  and  Men;  Scott,  Foresman  &  Co., 

Chicago. 
Kemp  :  Outlines  of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools  ;  Ginn 

&  Co.,  Boston. 
Harrison :    Calendar  of  Great  Men  (excellent  short  biographies  of 

eminent  Greeks)  ;  Macmillan  Co.,  London. 
Study  the  biographies  of  Pericles,  Phidias  and  Socrates. 


THE  STORY  OF  ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT 

What  do  you  think  became  of  Athens,  with  all  its 
beauty,  which  Pericles  loved  so  well  ? 

I  will  tell  you.  Just  two  years  before  Pericles  died, 
that  is,  431  years  before  Christ,  Athens  and  Sparta  and 
the  other  states  of  Greece  began  to  fight  each  other  as 
they  often  had  done  before,  and  for  nearly  a  hundred 
years  they  quarreled  most  of  the  time.  So  many  battles 
were  fought  that  in  the  end  all  the  states  had  become 
very  weak  and  were  without  power,  for  they  had  lost  a 
large  number  of  their  best  men.  Just  then,  for  almost 
the  first  time,  they  began  to  hear  of  Macedonia. 

Macedonia  was  a  mountainous  country  about  twice 
as  far  north  of  Athens  as  Sparta  was  southwest  of  it. 
Its  people  were  Greeks,  too,  but  in  many  ways  they 
were  not  like  the  Greeks  of  Athens  and  Sparta. 

Why  had  Macedonia  not  been  heard  of  before  ?  It 
was  because  its  people  still  lived  in  country  tribes  and 
had  not  learned  to  live  in  cities.  They  did  not  have  fine 
large  temples  for  their  gods  until  many  years  after  the 
Athenians  had.  Great  forests  covered  most  of  the  coun- 
try, and  the  people  lived  in  rude  houses  and  fed  their 
few  sheep  on  the  mountain  sides.  They  were  fond  of 
hunting,  and  often  had  to  fight  the  wild  beasts  which 
came  to  steal  away  their  sheep. 

127 


128  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

No  boy  could  sit  at  the  table  with  men  until  he  had 
killed  a  wild  boar,  and  every  one  that  had  not  yet  killed 
a  foe  must  wear  a  rope  around  his  body  to  show  he  was 
not  yet  free.  Such  wild  life,  and  such  struggles  as 
these,  made  them  brave  and  warlike,  and  they  became 
most  excellent  fighters. 

Once  the  Macedonians  fought  with  Thebes  and  were 
overcome,  and  the  people  of  Thebes  made  the  king  of 
Macedonia  give  them  his  little  son  Philip  as  a  pledge 
that  he  would  not  trouble  them  again.  While  Philip 
was  growing  up  at  Thebes,  he  found  out  that  the  Greek 
cities  were  very  jealous  of  each  other,  and  kept  fighting 
and  trying  to  destroy  each  other. 

When  at  last  Philip's  father  died  and  Philip  was 
allowed  to  go  back  home  to  be  the  king  of  Macedonia, 
he  began  to  train  his  hardy,  rough  shepherds  to  fight. 
He  taught  them  what  he  had  learned  at  Thebes.  He 
formed  what  was  called  a  phalanx.  Each  soldier  in 
the  phalanx  carried  a  light  shield  and  a  spear  twenty- 
one  feet  long.  When  they  advanced,  they  were  taught 
to  place  their  shields  together,  somewhat  like  the  scales 
on  a  fish,  so  as  to  form  a  wall,  and  they  stood  in  rows, 
one  behind  another,  sixteen  men  deep.  Each  soldier 
grasped  the  spear  six  feet  from  the  front  end,  thrusting 
it  forward  just  over  the  shoulders  of  those  who  stood 
before  him ;  thus  each  man  in  the  front  row  had  four 
spears  pointing  before  him. 

Philip  had  seen  how  weak  the  Greek  cities  had  become 
by  their  long  wars,  for  they  never  learned  to  be  true 
friends  of  one  another ;  so  he  decided  he  would  make 
war  upon  them,  and  in  this  way  become  ruler  of  all  the 
Greeks. 


THE   STORY   OF   ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT     129 

Athens  and  Sparta  and  Thebes  and  all  the  rest  of  the 
Greek  cities  ceased  quarreling  for  a  little  time,  and  united 
when  they  saw  Philip  coming;  but  in  one  great  battle  he 
defeated  them  all,  and  they  were  forced  to  choose  him 
as  their  leader.  So  at  last,  you  see,  the  Greek  cities 
were  no  longer  free,  but  all  had  become  a  part  of  Mace- 
donia, and  Philip  was  king  over  all  of  them. 

Philip  now  asked  them  to  join  with  him  in  making 
war  on  their  old  enemy  Persia,  who,  you  remember,  had 
fought  Greece,  and  burnt  Athens  to  the  ground  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  before  this  time.  He  began 
to  get  his  soldiers  ready  to  start.  Soon  after  this  he 
was  holding  a  great  feast  and  games  on  his  daughter's 
wedding  day,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  rejoicing  he  was 
murdered. 

His  son  Alexander  now  became  king.  Alexander 
was  only  twenty  years  old,  but  he  soon  showed  that  he 
was  even  a  greater  king  than  his  father  had  been.  Two 
years  before,  when  he  was  only  eighteen,  he  had  fought 
in  the  great  battle  in  which  the  Macedonians  had  over- 
come the  other  Greeks,  and  his  father  had  praised  him 
for  his  bravery. 

When  he  was  thirteen,  a  beautiful  but  wild  and  fiery 
horse  was  brought  to  his  father's  court.  None  of  the 
king's  men  could  manage  it,  so  King  Philip  had  ordered 
them  to  take  it  away,  when  Alexander  said,  "  I  could 
manage  that  horse  better  than  those  men  do."  Philip, 
hearing  him  say  it,  let  him  try.  Alexander  saw  the 
horse  was  afraid  of  its  shadow.  So  he  turned  the 
horse  directly  toward  the  sun,  in  order  that  it  might  not 
see  the  shadow.  He  stroked  it  gently,  and  soon  it 
became  very  quiet.      Then  he  gave  a  quick  leap  and 


130  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

was  on  the  horse's  back.  At  first  it  tried  to  throw 
him  off,  but  Alexander  managed  it  so  well  that  soon  he 
was  riding  about  as  if  it  were  an  old  and  gentle  horse. 
He  was  very  fond  of  it,  and  named  it  Bucephalus. 
In  later  years  Bucephalus  carried  him  safely  through 
many  battles,  and  at  last,  when  the  faithful  animal  be- 
came old  and  died,  Alexander  built  a  city  and  named 
it  Bucephalia. 

Alexander  was  not  only  brave,  but  he  was  also  stu- 
dious. His  father  got  for  him  the  best  teachers  that 
could  be  found.  He  sent  for  Aristotle,  the  wisest  man 
in  all  Greece.  The  boy  loved  Aristotle  and  studied 
hard.  He  thought  there  was  nothing  too  hard  for  him 
to  learn,  but  he  liked  the  "  Iliad  "  best  of  all,  for  it  told 
of  wars  and  the  old  Trojan  and  Greek  heroes.  It  is 
said  he  knew  it  all  by  heart. 

While  he  was  yet  a  boy,  the  king  of  Persia  sent  some 
men  to  Philip  on  a  matter  of  business,  but  Philip  did  not 
happen  to  be  at  home.  So  Alexander  had  to  entertain 
the  men.  Although  a  boy,  he  surprised  them  by  the 
intelligent  questions  he  asked  about  Persia.  He  wanted 
to  know  how  far  they  had  come,  and  if  the  roads  were 
good ;  how  large  was  the  king's  army,  and  whether  the 
people  liked  him,  and  many  other  things  like  these. 

Once,  when  he  heard  that  his  father  had  captured  an- 
other city,  he  said  to  his  playmates,  "  My  father  will  go 
on  until  he  has  conquered  all  the  cities,  and  there  will  be 
none  left  for  us  to  take  when  I  am  king." 

But  as  I  have  said,  Philip  was  killed  when  Alexander 
was  only  twenty.  Alexander  soon  showed  that  he  could 
manage  a  state  as  well  as  he  had  managed  Bucephalus. 
Because  he  was  so  young,  the  Greeks  whom  his  father 


THE    STORY   OF   ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT      13 1 

had  conquered  thought  they  could  easily  win  back  their 
freedom.  But  Alexander  marched  swiftly  from  one  end 
of  his  kingdom  to  the  other,  overcoming  them  every- 
where, and  soon  things  were  quiet  again.  Then  he 
decided  to  take  up  his  father's  plan  of  conquering 
Persia. 

Very  soon  he  had  gathered  an  army  of  about  thirty 
thousand  and  was  ready  to  start.  Soon  they  had  reached 
the  Hellespont  and  were  ready  to  cross  into  Asia.  Here 
is  where  Xerxes  had  crossed  into  Europe  on  his  bridge 
of  boats  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  before,  when  he 
came  with  a  million  men  to  conquer  Greece.  Alexander 
is  now  crossing  to  conquer  Persia. 

But  can  he  do  it  ?  Persia  is  fifty  times  as  large  as 
Macedonia,  including  all  Greece,  and  has  an  army  more 
than  twenty  times  as  large  as  Alexander's.  But  you 
remember  the  Macedonian  phalanx.  We  are  now  to 
see  if  a  small  army  with  a  brave  leader  like  Alexander 
is  more  powerful  than  a  large  army  with  a  poor  leader 
like  Darius,  the  king  of  Persia. 

Soon  they  crossed  the  Hellespont.  Alexander  him- 
self guided  one  of  the  vessels,  and  when  they  came  near 
the  shore  he  hurled  his  spear  into  the  bank,  to  show  his 
men  how  he  aimed  to  conquer  Persia.  He  was  the  first 
one  to  jump  ashore ;  and  how  he  must  have  felt,  for  now 
he  was  in  the  land  of  Troy,  —  the  land  of  the  hero 
Achilles,  the  warrior  whom  he  had  worshiped  from 
childhood,  and  whom  he  loved  to  think  he  was  like,  — 
the  land  of  Paris  and  Helen  and  old  King  Priam,  the 
heroes  of  whom  Homer  had  sung. 

He  went  to  the  spot  where  the  proud  city  of  Troy  had 
stood  so  long  ago.     He  found  the  places  where  it  was 


132  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

said  Achilles  had  fought  and  where  he  lay  buried.  In 
order  to  show  him  honor,  Alexander  told  his  men  to 
celebrate  the  games.  So  all  the  warriors  put  aside,  for 
a  few  days,  thoughts  of  war  and  danger,  and  enjoyed 
themselves  as  they  used  to  do  in  the  gymnasium  at 
home.  Through  all  the  years  of  marching  and  fighting 
Alexander  never  forgot  the  games  his  soldiers  knew 
and  loved,  and  often  they  laid  aside  the  dangers  of  war, 
and  by  hunting,  the  theater,  and  the  gymnastic  sports, 
enjoyed  themselves  in  the  camp.  But  Alexander  did 
more  than  this,  for  he  ordered  a  new  city  to  be  built 
where  Troy  had  once  stood,  and  he  named  it  Ilium  in 
honor  of  the  old  city  and  his  most  treasured  book,  the 
"Iliad." 

Alexander  longed  to  fight  as  the  ancient  Greeks  at 
Troy  had  fought.  He  wanted  to  win  a  glorious  victory. 
His  wishes  were  soon  to  be  granted,  for  he  had  not  gone 
far  eastward  when  he  came  to  the  Granicus  River,  in 
Asia  Minor,  where  the  Persian  army  was  placed,  so  that 
he  must  drive  them  away  if  he  wished  to  cross. 

The  Macedonian  king  did  not  hesitate.  He  mounted 
his  horse  and  asked  the  men  to  remember  how  well  they 
had  fought  for  his  father.  The  command  was  given  for 
the  battle  to  begin,  when  on  they  went,  through  the  val- 
ley and  river,  singing  the  battle  hymn.  Alexander  was 
in  the  thickest  of  the  fight.  His  lance  was  broken.  He 
was  hit  on  the  head  by  a  sword,  and  a  piece  of  his  helmet 
was  broken.  He  would  certainly  have  been  killed,  had 
not  his  friend  Clitus  rushed  to  his  aid  and  saved  his 
life.  In  spite  of  the  size  of  the  Persian  army,  he  com- 
pletely scattered  all  of  it  and  won  a  great  victory.  By  one 
battle  he  had  freed  all  of  the  Greek  cities  in  Asia  Minor. 


THE  STORY  OF  ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT   133 

Marching  on,  Alexander  came  to  the  city  of  Gordium, 
once  the  home  of  greedy,  rich  King  Midas,  who  wanted 
everything  he  touched  to  be  turned  to  gold.  In  a  tem- 
ple the  people  showed  him  a  wagon  to  which  the  yoke 
was  fastened  by  a  knotted  cord,  and  they  told  him  that 
whoever  would  untie  it  should  become  ruler  of  all  Asia. 
Alexander  tried  to  unfasten  it  as  many  others  had  done ; 
but  when  he  found  it  was  very  difficult,  he  drew  his 
sword  and  cut  the  string,  and  so  it  came  off. 

Soon  he  reached  the  Issus  River,  near  the  northeast 
angle  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  found  out  that 
Darius  himself  was  coming  with  a  large  army  to  fight 
him.     This  is  just  what  Alexander  wanted. 

What  a  splendid  sight  the  Persian  army  made  as  it 
marched  along  !  First  came  the  silver  altar,  bearing  the 
sacred  fire ;  then  came  youths,  one  for  each  day  in  the 
year,  in  front  of  the  chariot  of  the  sun,  drawn  by  white 
horses.  On  the  chariot  sat  the  king,  wearing  a  fine  pur- 
ple mantle,  containing  many  precious  stones.  Around 
him  on  every  side  were  his  soldiers,  many  of  them  wear- 
ing robes  glittering  with  gold  and  carrying  silver-handled 
lances. 

Then  they  began  to  fight.  The  battle  was  sharp  and 
Alexander  was  wounded ;  but  as  usual  he  won  the  vic- 
tory. Darius  soon  saw  that  the  Persians  were  beaten, 
so  he  jumped  on  a  horse  and  hurried  away  to  escape 
with  his  life,  leaving  behind  his  wife,  his  mother  and 
children,  as  well  as  his  purple  mantle.  But  Alexander 
was  not  cruel  to  his  fair  prisoners,  and  Darius'  own 
mother  said  she  was  treated  better  by  her  kingly  captor 
than  she  had  been  by  Darius  himself. 

That  night  Alexander  ate  the  supper  which  had  been 


134  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

prepared  for  Darius,  and  slept  in  Darius'  tent.  He  and 
his  plain  Macedonian  soldiers  were  surprised  at  the 
many  fine  things  they  had  captured.  There  were 
dishes  and  pitchers  and  bath-tubs  of  solid  gold,  won- 
drously  made.  The  odors  of  spices  and  myrrh  sweet- 
ened the  king's  tent.  Fine  carpets  and  rugs  were  there 
in  great  abundance ;  and,  what  pleased  the  soldiers 
greatly,  they  found  a  large  pile  of  Persian  money. 

The  Greeks  now  entered  Phoenicia,  the  land  where 
stood  the  city  of  Tyre.  You  remember  last  year  you 
learned  how  the  merchants  from  Tyre  sailed  over  all 
the  seas  trading  with  the  different  countries,  carrying 
the  goods  from  one  place  to  another.  In  this  way  the 
people  became  very  rich  and  proud  and  had  built 
around  the  edge  of  their  island-city  a  wall  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  high,  made  out  of  large  stones,  accurately 
joined  and  tightly  cemented.  On  the  shore,  a  half  mile 
away,  stood  the  old  city.  They  thought  they  would  be 
forever  safe  behind  the  walls  of  their  new  city  ;  and  well 
they  might,  for  once  Nebuchadnezzar  of  Babylon,  with 
a  great  army,  had  tried  thirteen  years  to  capture  it  and 
had  failed.  But  Nebuchadnezzar  was  not  an  Alex- 
ander. 

The  Tyrians  did  not  wish  the  Greek  army  to  enter 
their  city,  so  they  left  all  the  houses  on  the  shore  in 
the  old  town  and  shut  themselves  behind  the  great 
walls  on  the  island-city.  Alexander  had  no  fear  that 
he  would  not  be  able  to  capture  it,  but  how  was  he  to 
get  over  the  half  mile  of  water  which  extended  between 
the  coast  and  the  city  ? 

He  decided  to  build  a  road  out  through  the  water  to 
the  island.     So  he  tore  down  the  houses  on  the  shore 


THE   STORY  OF   ALEXANDER   THE  GREAT      135 

and  brought  down  trees  from  Mt.  Lebanon  near  by,  and 
tumbled  rocks,  wood,  dirt  and  all  —  a  whole  forest  and 
a  whole  city  —  into  the  sea,  making  a  path  two  hundred 
feet  wide,  reaching  from  the  shore  to  the  walls.  The 
Tyrians  tried  to  tear  up  the  way,  but  the  Greek  sol- 
diers quickly  repaired  it  every  time  it  was  torn  down. 

But  how  will  the  Greeks  break  down  the  walls  when 
they  get  to  them  ?  Will  they  use  cannon  to  break 
them  to  pieces,  as  we  would  ?  No,  indeed,  they  will 
not ;  for  in  that  day,  and  for  almost  two  thousand  years 
afterward,  there  were  no  cannon,  and  gunpowder  was 
not  known. 

They  tried  to  dig  holes  under  the  sides  of  the  wall  so 
as  to  cause  it  to  fall,  but  the  Tyrians  threw  down  stones 
and  poured  kettles  of  hot  oil  upon  the  men  who  were 
digging  and  drove  them  away.  Then  the  soldiers  built 
huge  battering-rams  with  which  to  batter  the  walls  to 
pieces.  A  battering-ram  is  a  large  pole,  thicker  and 
longer  than  the  largest  telegraph  pole,  the  end  of  which 
is  covered  with  a  head  of  hard  iron.  The  pole  is  hung 
on  a  chain  in  a  frame,  so  it  may  be  moved  back  and 
forth  lengthwise,  heavily  battering  against  the  solid  wall. 
Day  after  day  for  seven  long  months  they  beat  at  the 
strong  walls  and  hurled  immense  stones  and  sharp  bars 
of  iron  at  them  with  another  machine,  called  a  catapult, 
till  at  last  they  broke  through  a  hole  large  enough  for 
some  of  the  soldiers  to  enter.  Alexander  was  one  of 
the  first  inside,  and  soon  the  city  was  captured. 

What  do  you  think  became  of  the  people?  Well, 
some  of  them  were  killed,  but  most  of  them  were  sold 
as  slaves,  and  some  of  them  were  cruelly  crucified. 
Thus  the  city  of  Tyre  completely  lost  the  importance 


136  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

which  it  had  so  long  held  as  the  queen  city  of  the  east- 
ern Mediterranean.  After  Tyre  is  destroyed,  there  is 
for  fifty  years  or  more  no  great  city  on  the  eastern 
Mediterranean  coast. 

Alexander  next  went  to  Egypt,  and  the  people  there 
who  were  tired  of  being  ruled  by  Persia  gladly  wel- 
comed him.  He  spent  the  winter  there  and  started  a 
city  at  the  place  where  the  Nile  empties  into  the  blue 
Mediterranean.  He  named  this  Alexandria,  after  him- 
selfj  just  as  we  named  our  capital  after  Washington,  our 
first  president.  He  divided  the  city  into  three  main 
parts,  one  for  the  Greeks,  one  for  the  Hebrews,  and  one 
for  the  Egyptians,  but  he  wanted  all  nations  of  people  to 
come  there  to  live.  I  will  tell  you  more  of  Alexandria 
by  and  by,  but  now  I  must  finish  about  Alexander's 
great  conquests. 

When  spring  came,  Alexander  again  set  out,  for  he 
had  not  yet  come  to  the  Persian  capital.  Eastward  he 
went  over  rivers  and  hills,  through  green  valleys,  and 
then  over  hot  burning  deserts.  King  Darius,  after  run- 
ning away  in  the  last  battle,  had  by  this  time  collected 
another  large  army,  —  larger  than  the  one  before.  This 
time,  besides  the  enormous  army  of  soldiers,  he  had 
more  than  two  hundred  war  chariots  with  sharp  swords 
and  scythe  blades  fastened  to  the  end  of  the  tongue, 
and  to  the  ends  of  the  axle.  He  expected  to  mow  down 
Alexander's  army  as  a  farmer  would  cut  his  grass  and 
wheat. 

Alexander  came  up  with  him  near  the  town  of  Arbela, 
in  the  rich  valley  of  the  Tigris,  and  fought  here  his  third 
and  last  great  battle  with  him ;  but  like  the  others, 
Alexander  won  it.       King   Darius  again  escaped,  but 


THE  STORY  OF  ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT   137 

Alexander  now  entered  the  capitals  of  Babylon,  Susa 
and  Persepolis.  Here  he  found  the  hoarded  wealth  of  the 
king,  and  great  it  surely  was,  for  it  took  five  thousand 
camels  and  a  whole  host  of  mules  to  carry  away  the 
treasure.  Some  of  it  he  sent  back  to  Greece,  and  the  rest 
he  kept  for  his  own  use  and  to  divide  among  his  soldiers. 

He  had  now  really  gone  as  far  as  he  at  first  intended, 
but,  you  see,  he  had  not  yet  taken  Darius.  So  allow- 
ing all  his  soldiers  who  cared  to  do  so  to  go  back 
home,  where  they  would  tell  of  the  riches  they  had 
found  and  thus  induce  others  to  come  to  help  him,  and 
leaving  men  to  take  care  of  the  captured  cities,  he 
again  started  after  Darius.  Many  days  he  followed 
him.  Sometimes  he  was  almost  up  with  him,  but  still 
Darius  kept  ahead.  At  last  Darius'  own  men  saw  it 
was  of  no  use  to  try  longer  to  escape,  so  they  tried  to 
kill  the  king  to  keep  him  from  being  captured ;  and 
when  Alexander  at  last  overtook  him,  he  was  dying. 
Sorry  to  see  him  treated  so  cruelly,  Alexander  ordered 
the  body  to  be  taken  back  to  the  capital,  and  there 
buried  in  the  beautiful  tomb  of  the  Persian  kings. 

Now  that  Darius  was  dead,  Alexander  called  him- 
self king  of  Persia  and  began  to  dress  and  act  some- 
thing like  the  Persian  kings.  His  plain  Macedonian 
soldiers  did  not  like  this,  but  Alexander  thought  by 
doing  so,  it  would  be  the  best  way  to  unite  the  Persians 
with  the  Greeks,  so  that  he  might  truly  rule  over  both. 

Still  Alexander  went  on.  He  fought  many  fierce, 
brave  battles  with  tribes  in  Central  Asia,  and  overcame 
them  all.  That  he  might  easily  hold  all  the  country, 
wherever  he  went  he  built  cities  something  like  Alex- 
andria, and  left  in  them  some  of  his  soldiers  who  no 


138  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

longer  cared  to  fight,  or  were  worn  out  by  the  long 
marches.  Many  traders  also  who  followed  the  army 
to  sell  their  goods  to  the  soldiers,  saw  that  they  could 
profitably  remain  to  supply  the  people  with  what  they 
needed.  Some  of  the  natives,  too,  were  brought  from 
the  country  and  from  little  villages  and  placed  in  the 
cities. 

In  this  way  more  than  seventy  cities  were  built, 
and  you  may  be  sure  these  Greek  cities  grew  to  be 
very  much  like  those  at  home.  The  people  spoke  the 
Greek  language  and  had  their  gymnasia,  Greek  sports, 
theaters  and  temples.  They  remembered  their  Homer 
and  taught  others  to  know  it,  and  in  their  theaters  they 
gave  the  plays  of  yEschylus,  which  had  so  often  de- 
lighted the  Athenians  when  Pericles  lived.  Do  you 
begin  to  see  how  Alexander  made  Persia  like  Greece  ? 
And  also  how  he  was  spreading  over  the  old  worn-out 
East  a  layer  of  rich  soil  of  Greek  beauty  as  farmers 
sometimes  spread  a  fertilizer  over  their  worn-out  fields  ? 

Do  you  think  Alexander  had  forgotten  his  old  teacher, 
Aristotle?  No,  indeed,  he  had  not,  for  wherever  he 
went  he  had  many  men  to  find  out  all  they  could  about 
the  people  they  met  and  the  countries  through  which 
they  passed,  so  they  might  send  back  this  knowledge 
to  Aristotle.  He  set  many  men  to  work  also  to  gather 
all  the  different  kinds  of  plants  from  mountain  sides 
and  woods  and  fields  and  deserts,  and  these  he  sent 
back  to  Aristotle,  that  he  might  study  them.  Alexander, 
too,  furnished  the  great  teacher  of  his  boyhood  all  the 
money  he  needed  in  his  work,  and  so  made  it  possible 
for  him  to  study  and  teach  in  Athens.  Aristotle  was 
one  of  the  greatest  men  who  ever  lived,  and  by  his 


THE    STORY   OF   ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT      1 39 

study  and  writing  people  now  know  many  things  about 
Greece  and  the  olden  times  which  they  never  would 
have  known  had  it  not  been  for  him. 

But  Alexander  was  not  always  so  good  as  you  might 
think,  for  he  loved  to  have  his  men  gather  at  his  royal 
tent  to  drink  wine  with  him,  and  sometimes  he  would 
even  get  drunk.  Once,  when  he  had  drunk  too  much 
wine,  he  became  very  angry  at  his  best  friend,  Clitus, 
who,  you  remember,  had  saved  his  life  at  the  battle 
of  the  Granicus  River.  Before  Alexander  thought 
what  he  was  doing,  he  threw  his  spear  at  Clitus  and 
killed  him.  He  was  very  sorry  for  his  act  and  shut 
himself  in  his  tent  and  would  not  see  any  one  for  many 
days.  You  surely  think  this  should  have  taught  him 
to  let  wine  alone,  but  I  am  sorry  to  say  it  did  not. 

Alexander,  still  traveled  eastward,  coming  at  last  to 
the  Indus  River,  where  a  branch  of  the  early  Aryan 
people  lived.  His  soldiers  did  not  wish  to  go  farther, 
so  they  begged  him  to  return  to  Babylon,  for  it  was 
now  ten  years  since  they  had  left  Macedonia. 

Alexander  still  wished  to  make  Persia  and  Greece 
more  like  each  other  in  customs  and  life,  so  he  married 
the  beautiful  daughter  of  Darius  and  urged  his  Greek 
soldiers  to  marry  Persian  women  also.  Many  did  so, 
and  they  made  a  great  wedding  feast,  which  lasted 
five  whole  days.  Thousands  of  Greeks  and  Persians 
were  present  to  enjoy  this  feast  —  made  rich  with  the 
wealth  and  luxury  of  Persia  and  beautiful  with  the  art 
and  culture  of  Greece.  It  was  held  in  a  great  hall 
decorated  in  most  expensive  style.  Elegant  couches 
for  those  who  dined  to  recline  upon,  costly  Persian  rugs, 
hangings  of  fine  linen,  tapestries  of  many  colors  inter- 


140  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

woven  with  threads  of  gold,  pillars  overlaid  with  silver 
and  gold,  and  precious  jewels,  tell  us  that  this  Alexander 
is  quite  different  from  the  plain,  simple,  manly  Mace- 
donian king  and  soldier  who  had  crossed  the  Hellespont 
only  ten  years  before. 

But  in  spite  of  his  many  successes,  Alexander  was 
not  nearly  so  happy  as  he  used  to  be  when  he  was 
king  of  only  little  Macedon.  He  no  longer  had  the 
fine  health  which  had  so  often  helped  him  to  brave 
hardships,  for  he  had  become  weakened  by  eating 
and  drinking  too  much,  and  returning  to  Babylon, 
where  he  feasted  much,  it  was  not  long  until  he  be- 
came very  sick. 

The  doctors  crowded  around  his  bed  and  did  their 
best  to  save  his  life,  but  they  soon  saw  that  he  must 
die.  When  the  soldiers  found  this  out,  they  were  wild 
with  grief  and  all  wanted  to  see  their  loved  leader  once 
again.  Silently  and  sadly  they  passed  by  his  bedside 
and  looked  on  his  dying  face,  which  they  had  so  often 
seen  bright  and  full  of  joy.  It  was  sad  that  Alexander 
should  die  so  young,  for  he  was  only  thirty-three,  and 
had  just  begun  his  great  work  of  spreading  Greek 
culture  over  the  then  known  world  and  of  uniting  the 
many  different  people  whom  he  had  conquered. 

Alexander  had  many  faults,  but  the  people  loved  him, 
for  he  really  tried  to  do  very  much  to  help  them.  Both 
by  war  and  by  sowing  broadcast  the  seeds  of  Greek 
life,  he  had  well  earned  the  title  of  Alexander  the 
Great. 

When  Alexander  died,  his  body  was  embalmed,  laid  in 
a  golden  coffin  and  taken,  as  is  generally  believed,  to  the 
pity  of  Alexandria,  where  a  fine  tomb  was  built  for  it. 


THE    STORY   OF   ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT     141 

And  this  brings  us  back  to  the  wonderful  city  founded 
but  a  few  years  before  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nile. 

Alexandria  grew  very  rapidly,  and  soon  became  the 
most  important  city  in  the  world.  Since  Tyre  was 
destroyed,  the  traders  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  must 
find  a  new  city  as  a  center,  and  it  was  to  take  the  place 
of  Tyre  that  Alexandria  was  built.  It  had  such  a  fine 
harbor  that  ships  from  all  countries  came  there  to  trade. 
Athens  sent  ships  to  get  the  grain  from  the  Nile  valley ; 
camels  brought  ivory  and  lions'  skins  from  southern 
Egypt;  from  Arabia  and  far-away  India  the  caravans 
brought  costly  gems  and  spices ;  ships  came  with  loads 
of  furs  and  fish  from  the  Baltic  Sea ;  Spain  sent  its  large 
amount  of  precious  silver.  As  a  spider  sits  at  the  center 
of  its  web  catching  food  in  its  meshes  from  every  direc- 
tion, so  Alexandria  sat  as  the  mistress  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, drawing  trade  from  every  quarter  east  and  west. 

Thus  it  was  not  long  until  Alexandria  was  doing  the 
trading  for  most  of  the  world  and  was  even  a  greater 
city  than  Tyre  had  ever  been.  She  was  the  halfway 
point  between  the  rich  and  luxurious  peoples  living  in 
the  Indus  and  Tigro-Euphrates  valleys  in  the  Old  East 
and  the  youthful  peoples  growing  up  on  the  western 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean  and  on  the  western  coast 
of  Europe.  I  must  briefly  tell  you  something  more  about 
this  greatest  of  all  the  cities  founded  by  Alexander. 

The  governor  of  Egypt,  who  was  one  of  Alexander's 
own  Greek  generals,  built  for  himself  a  fine  marble 
palace  in  the  center  of  the  city.  Most  of  the  people 
spoke  the  Greek  language  and  learned  the  Greek  ways. 
Soon  they  had  a  theater  for  the  Greek  plays  and  a 
gymnasium  for  the  games.    Near  his  palace  the  governor 


142  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

built  a  large  library.  He  sent  men  to  Athens  and  the 
other  Greek  cities  to  get  copies  of  all  their  books.  Others 
were  sent  to  copy  the  clay  bricks  of  Babylon.  The  Jews 
brought  the  Hebrew  Bible  which  they  loved  so  much, 
and  it,  too,  was  changed  to  Greek. 

As  we  found  in  studying  Egypt  and  bookmaking  last 
year,  the  books  were  written  on  a  kind  of  paper  which 
they  called  papyrus.  This  was  made  from  the  thin 
coats  of  a  reed-like  plant  which  grew  in  Egypt.  After 
the  paper  was  made,  strips  of  it  were  cut  just  as  wide  as 
a  book  was  to  be,  and  then  a  number  of  wide  strips  were 
glued  end  to  end,  thus  making  a  strip  of  paper  from 
eight  to  fourteen  inches  wide  and  just  as  long  as  was 
desired,  fifty  or  a  hundred  feet,  or  even  sometimes  much 
longer.  The  pages  were  written  down  the  sheets.  On 
each  end  of  the  paper  a  stick,  usually  with  fine  knobs, 
was  fastened,  and  on  one  of  these  sticks  the  whole  was 
rolled,  somewhat  as  we  roll  a  map.  When  one  wanted 
to  read  the  book,  he  unrolled  it  from  one  stick  to  the 
other  as  he  read.  Each  of  these  rolls  came  to  be  called 
a  volume,  for  that  was  the  ancient  word  for  a  roll ;  and 
you  see  we  have  kept  the  idea  of  books  being  rolls  to 
this  day,  for  we  still  call  them  volumes.  So  the  work 
went  on,  and  so  eager  was  the  governor  to  get  a  copy 
of  every  book  for  the  library,  it  is  said  he  even  ordered 
persons  to  steal  books  in  the  various  countries  if  they 
could  not  get  them  any  other  way.  The  library  grew  to 
be  very  large,  and  we  are  told  that  at  one  time  it  had 
more  than  seven  hundred  thousand  volumes.  How 
strange  this  library  of  papyrus  rolls  would  have  seemed 
to  us ;  but  we  should  be  glad  all  this  was  done,  for,  by 
gathering  so  much  of  the  learning  together  in  one  place, 


THE   STORY  OF  ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT      143 

and  by  changing  much  of  the  old  writing  into  the  Greek, 
it  made  it  much  easier  for  many  scholars  to  learn  it, 
and  hand  it  down,  to  all  after  ages,  even  to  our  own 
time. 

The  governor,  too,  built  a  large  building,  in  which  he 
gathered  all  the  kinds  of  plants  which  could  be  found,  and 
in  another  he  placed  a  large  collection  of  wild  animals. 
Then  he  sent  for  the  wisest  men  to  study  the  books, 
the  plants  and  the  animals.  From  everywhere  they 
came, — from  Athens,  from  Babylon,  from  Jerusalem 
and  from  far-away  Sicily  and  India.  In  order  that  they 
need  not  stay  away  if  they  were  poor,  he  built  large 
buildings  in  which  they  might  live,  and  furnished  them 
with  board.  It  is  said  that  at  one  time  more  than  four- 
teen thousand  people  were  there  to  study.  What  a  fine 
school  that  must  have  been,  in  those  olden  days ! 

Thus  you  see  that  while  many  people  in  that  far- 
away time  were  interested  mostly  in  war  and  such 
things,  yet  some  people  were  beginning  to  be  great 
scholars,  and  gathered  together  the  best  that  had  been 
thought  and  said  all  over  the  world,  and  wrote  it  out 
in  their  own  language.  By  this  means  they  preserved 
learning  and  made  it  so  that  they  and  their  people  could 
better  understand  it,  and  not  only  teach  it  to  their  chil- 
dren, but  add  a  few  new  thoughts  to  it,  and  their  children 
in  turn  to  their  children,  in  this  way  making  knowledge 
like  a  river  which  grows  continually  wider  and  deeper 
by  the  streams  which  flow  into  it.  It  is  by  work  like 
this  that  knowledge  has  grown  "from  more  to  more," 
as  Tennyson  says. 

Thus  I  hope  you  see  that  Alexander  was  not  chiefly 
a  rude  warrior,  selfishly  overturning  cities  and  countries, 


144  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

but  he  was  more  like  a  missionary  who  carries  new 
thought  to  a  people  and  thus  lifts  them  to  a  higher  life. 
Athens  was  not  to  have  all  of  its  art,  its  Homer,  its 
yEschylus  and  its  many  other  great  things  longer  to 
itself,  but  they  flowed  out  from  Greece  over  Asia  and 
Egypt,  and  some  were  left  wherever  Alexander's  work 
extended.  This  out-pouring  of  Greece  was  much  like 
the  Nile  River  overflowing  its  banks  and  spreading  out 
over  the  country,  bringing  moisture  and  fertile  soil  to 
every  part  of  the  valley.  So  Alexander's  going  out  over 
the  borders  of  little  Greece  caused  the  streams  of  beauty 
and  truth,  as  sculpture  and  architecture  and  poetry  and 
philosophy,  which  had  become  stagnant,  to  flow  over 
and  enrich  the  people  of  the  old  East.  Thus  Greece 
was  able  to  pay  back  those  old  countries  for  the  help 
they  had  given  her,  by  giving  her  ideas  and  useful 
things,  when  she  was  a  mere  infant  —  just  getting  a 
start.  Next  year  in  the  study  of  Rome  we  shall  see 
Greek  life  and  art  carried  west  and  spread  over  the 
western  Mediterranean ;  and  as  we  study  in  the  fifth 
and  sixth  grades,  we  shall  see  how  it  goes  on  to  Western 
Europe,  and  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  its  influ- 
ence will  be  seen  reaching  out  to  every  American  home 
which  has  in  it  artistic  mantle-pieces,  or  wall-paper,  or 
linoleum,  or  beautiful  patterns  for  chair  or  piano,  or 
plate  or  picture.  Thus  the  beautiful  and  true  things 
which  Greece  worked  out  were  not  permitted  to  remain 
in  that  little  country,  but  have  been  spread  over  much 
of  the  world  to  give  it  a  taste  for  simple  grace  and 
artistic  life. 


THE   STORY   OF  ALEXANDER   THE   GREAT      145 


References 

Wheeler:  Alexander  the  Great;  Putnam's  Sons,  N.Y. 
Curteis  :  Rise  of  the  Macedonian  Empire  ;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 
Oman:   A  History  of  Greece  ;  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Plutarch  :  Biography  of  Alexander  the  Great ;  A.  L.  Burt,  N.Y. 
Botsford:  A  History  of  Greece;  Macmillan  Co.,  N.Y. 
Myers  and  Allen  :  Ancient  History  ;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Morris  :  Historical  Tales  ;  Greek  ;  Lippincott  Co.,  Philadelphia. 
Guerber:  Story  of  the  Greeks;  American  Book  Co.,  Cincinnati. 
Church  :  Greek  Life  and  Story ;  Putnam's  Sons,  N.Y. 
Holm  :  The  History  of  Greece ;  4  vols. ;  Macmillan  Co.,  N.Y. 
Kemp  :  Outlines  of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools  ;  Ginn 

&  Co.,  Boston. 
Study   the   biographies    of  Aristotle,    Alexander   the   Great    and 

Ptolemy  I. 


FOURTH-GRADE   WORK 

The  aim  of  the  work  in  the  fourth  grade  is  to  present  the  geog- 
raphy of  Italy  and  then  the  life  of  Rome  at  three  different  periods 
of  her  growth  :  — 

i.  In  her  Infancy.  —  Here  the  pupil  should  see  the  favorable 
position  of  the  city  for  defense  and  for  acquiring  wealth  ;  and  should 
be  led  to  see  the  everyday  life  as  it  grew  up  on  the  small  farms  around 
the  city,  as  well  as  in  the  city  life  itself.  He  should  be  so  guided 
by  the  teacher  that  he  will  see  and  feel  the  problems  which  grew  up 
between  the  plebeians  and  patricians,  and  try  to  devise  plans  him- 
self for  their  settlement.  Then,  as  Rome  grows  strong,  he  must  see 
her  become  the  champion  of  the  people  on  the  plains,  and  engage  in 
battle  with  the  mountainous  people  around,  finally  conquering  them, 
building  road6  to  them,  and  teaching  them  Roman  manners,  laws 
and  customs. 

2.  In  her  Strong  Manhood.  —  Here  the  pupil  should  see  the 
struggle  of  Rome  against  her  most  powerful  neighbor  and  enemy, 
Carthage,  as  well  as  something  of  why  it  was  important  to  civiliza- 
tion that  Rome  should  conquer  in  the  conflict,  rather  than  Carthage. 

3.  In  her  Old  Age.  —  Here  the  pupil  should  see  Rome  extend  her 
power  all  around  the  Mediterranean,  giving  to  the  world  peace,  law 
and  order,  and  making  unconsciously  a  highway  both  for  Greek  cul- 
ture and  for  Christianity  to  spread  to  the  West.  But  he  should  see 
how  Rome  lost  her  moral  strength,  grew  corrupt,  luxurious  and 
selfish,  and  was,  therefore,  easily  overturned  by  the  Teutons,  who 
broke  through  the  mountain  barriers  in  the  north. 


146 


THE   GEOGRAPHY   OF   ITALY 

If  you  will  take  another  glance  at  the  map  of  Europe, 
you  will  see  that  not  very  far  west  of  Greece,  extending 
seven  hundred  miles  down  into  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 
is  a  slender  peninsula  which  looks  very  much  like  a 
great  boot.  It  seems  to  have  its  back  turned  toward  the 
back  of  Greece  and  is  drawn  up  to  kick,  as  if  it  were  a 
ball,  the  little  island  which  you  see  near  it.  This  penin- 
sula is  Italy,  and  the  island  is  Sicily,  but  it  is  mostly  of 
the  peninsula  that  we  wish  first  to  learn. 

Italy  extends  far  out  into  the  sea,  and  seems  to  be 
almost  in  the  center  of  it.  Westward,  at  no  very  great 
distance,  lies  the  peninsula  of  Spain.  Eastward,  and 
scarcely  farther  away  than  Spain,  are  Egypt  and  the 
lands  of  the  Phoenicians  and  of  the  Jews.  Greece  is 
so  near,  that  standing  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Italy  on 
a  bright,  clear  day,  one  can  see  the  dim  outlines  of  its 
western  coast ;  and  Africa  is  only  a  few  hours  sail  to  the 
south.  Any  one  of  these  countries  can  be  reached 
easily  and  quickly  from  Italy.  In  fact,  Italy  is  the 
central  country  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 

Italy  differs  greatly  from  Greece  in  shape.  Greece  is 
made  up  of  a  large  peninsula,  which  in  turn  consists  of 
many  smaller  ones.  On  a  map  it  looks  somewhat  like 
a  maple  leaf,  being  cut  up  into  many  narrow,  sharp 
points,  or  like  a  palm  to  which  are  attached  the  stubby 
fingers. 

H7 


148  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

Italy  is  not  so.  It  is  of  an  average  width  of  about 
one  hundred  miles  at  all  places  except  in  the  north,  and 
has  only  a  few  sharp  projections.  Since  the  whole 
peninsula  is  shaped  like  a  boot,  one  of  the  projections 
may  be  called  the  toe;  another  looks  like  a  rather 
high  heel ;  the  third  one,  on  its  back,  if  it  were  only 
lower  down,  would  look  very  much  like  a  spur  on  the 
heel. 

You  may  think  of  Italy  in  general  as  being  about 
once  the  width,  twice  the  length,  and  twice  the  extent  of 
Florida.  As  I  have  already  told  you,  scarcely  any  part 
of  it  is  more  than  a  hundred  miles  wide,  and  it  is  only 
six  or  seven  times  as  long  as  wide.  At  its  northern  end, 
where  it  spreads  out  into  the  high  top  of  the  boot,  and 
is  really  no  longer  a  peninsula,  it  becomes  about  three 
times  as  wide  as  before.  Its  northern  boundary  is 
formed  by  the  high  and  rugged  Alps,  which  extend  in  a 
kind  of  half-circle  from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  Adri- 
atic Sea,  thus,  like  a  mighty  wall,  shutting  Italy  off  to 
a  great  extent  from  the  rest  of  the  continent.  Through 
these  mountains  there  are  very  few  passes,  and  even 
these  are  very  rugged  and  difficult  to  cross,  for  they  are 
filled  with  deep  snows  and  large  glaciers.  Italy  thus 
formed  in  ancient  times  a  kind  of  out-of-the-way  place, 
in  which  her  greatest  city,  Rome,  developed  without 
much  interference  from  the  barbarians  of  the  North. 

Most  of  this  wider  part  of  Italy  just  south  of  the 
Alps  (now  called  the  Plain  of  Lombardy)  forms  a  level 
expanse  about  as  large  as  Indiana.  It  is  the  richest 
part  of  all  Italy.  The  melting  snows  of  the  Alps  start 
many  streams,  which  flow  down  the  mountain  sides  and 
unite    to    form   the    River    Po,   which   flows   eastward 


THE   GEOGRAPHY   OF   ITALY       ■  149 

through  the  plains  and  empties  into  the  Adriatic  Sea. 
The  little  streams  that  come  tumbling  down  the  moun- 
tain side  are  very  swift  and  carry  down  a  large  amount 
of  rich  soil.  This  soil,  being  washed  down  into  the  plain 
below  and  spread  out  over  the  valley,  makes  the  Po 
valley  very  productive. 

If  we  should  go  there  to-day,  we  should  find  great 
fields  of  waving  grain  and  large  groves  of  mulberry 
trees.  On  the  Adriatic,  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  Po, 
the  interesting  city  of  Venice  now  stands  on  more  than 
a  hundred  little  islands,  and  the  gondolas  sail  on  its 
streets  of  water,  arched  over  by  hundreds  of  bridges. 
But  long  ago,  when  Rome  was  beginning  to  rise,  there 
was  no  Venice,  and  on  the  plain  there  were  but  few 
fields  of  grain  and  groves  of  mulberry  trees.  Here, 
where  now  all  is  so  beautiful,  were  then  only  large, 
unhealthy  marshes  and  many  low  sandy  islands,  —  the 
homes  of  a  few  scattered  fishermen.  Through  these 
islands  and  swamps  the  dirty  waters  of  the  Po  found 
their  way  slowly  to  the  sea  in  many  shallow  mouths. 
Thus,  because  of  the  swamps  and  the  absence  of  good 
harbors,  northern  Italy  did  not  have  great  cities  grow 
up  in  it  in  early  times. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  northern  plain,  beginning 
where  the  Alps  meet  the  Mediterranean,  starts  another 
great  chain  of  mountains.  At  first  they  so  closely 
follow  the  shore  that  a  road  can  barely  creep  between 
the  foothills  and  the  sea.  These  mountains  run  at 
first  eastward  till  they  almost  cross  the  peninsula,  and 
then,  bending  southward,  continue  throughout  the 
length  of  Italy,  making  a  backbone  for  the  country. 
Down  into  the  toe  of  the  boot  they  extend,  and,  at  last, 


I50  •  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

reaching  the  sea,  jump  over  the  strait  into  the  island  of 
Sicily.  These  are  the  Apennines.  They  do  not  have 
the  many  pointed  peaks,  nor  are  they  so  high,  as  the 
rugged  and  snowy  Alps.  Their  sides,  even  to  the  very 
top,  are  covered  with  fine  forests  of  oak,  elm,  pine  and 
chestnut,  thus  giving  plenty  of  timber  for  building  ships. 
Rome  found  these  forests  of  great  value  when  she  came 
to  build  a  navy  with  which  to  fight  the  Carthaginians  on 
the  sea. 

You  must  thus  imagine  Italy  as  having  had  a  belt 
through  its  center  from  north  to  south,  bristling  with 
mountain  chains  and  peaks,  through  which,  however, 
were  many  easy  passes,  and  on  both  sides  of  which  were 
hilly  plains,  sloping  down  to  the  sea.  Between  the 
chains,  among  the  peaks,  and  along  the  mountain  sides, 
lay  many  valleys  in  which  herds  of  long-horned  cattle 
and  large  flocks  of  sheep,  herded  by  men  who  loved  a 
rough  mountain  life,  found  excellent  pastures. 

The  eastern  slope  of  Italy  is  short  and  steep,  and  so 
rugged  that  it  is  only  fitted  for  people  who  can  live  on 
the  products  of  a  shepherd's  life.  There  are  few  harbors 
on  the  coast,  and  there  is  little  to  invite  people  who  are 
seeking  homes.  For  this  reason,  as  I  have  already  said, 
it  was  the  back  of  Italy  which  was  turned  toward  Greece 
and  the  east.  On  the  west  side  of  the  mountains  the 
slope  is  gentler,  and  contains  several  quite  large  fertile 
plains  where  grains  may  be  raised ;  and  in  the  south, 
near  the  toe,  the  climate  is  so  mild  that  tropical  fruits, 
such  as  the  olive,  the  orange  and  the  fig,  are  found  in 
great  abundance.  Grape  vines  grow  in  great  numbers, 
and  climbing  to  the  very  tops  of  the  trees,  produce  large 
quantities  of  fruit.     The  western  coast  contains  several 


THE   GEOGRAPHY   OF   ITALY  15 1 

good  harbors.  Thus  the  face  of-  Italy  may  be  said  to  be 
turned  toward  Spain  and  the  west. 

Since  the  peninsula  is  so  narrow  and  the  distance 
from  the  Apennines  to  the  sea  is  not  great,  you  must 
not  expect  to  find  long,  deep  rivers,  none  even  so  large 
as  the  Po.  Indeed  they  are  very  much  like  those  of 
Greece,  —  short,  rapid,  and  overflowing  during  the  rains 
or  at  the  time  when  the  hot  sun  melts  the  snow  on  the 
mountain  tops,  and  only  small  and  dried  up  at  other 
times.  There  is  but  one  river  on  which  even  a  boat  of 
considerable  size  can  sail.  This  is  the  Tiber,  which  rises 
in  the  Apennines  where  they  bend  south  into  the  penin- 
sula, and  then  flows  south  about  one  hundred  eighty- 
five  miles,  emptying  through  a  small  plain  into  the 
Mediterranean  about  halfway  down  the  peninsula.  It 
will  carry  boats  over  about  fifty  miles  of  its  lower 
course. 

The  plain  through  which  it  flows  is  the  largest  one  on 
this  slope  and  is  called  Latium.  It  was  on  the  banks 
of  the  Tiber  and  in  this  plain  that  the  most  interesting 
life  of  Italy  developed ;  for  here,  on  a  low  group  of 
hills,  fifteen  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Tiber,  grew  up 
Rome,  —  the  mighty  center  of  the  ancient  world. 
Although  Rome  began  with  rude  huts  for  homes  and 
with  a  mud  wall,  the  people  learned  to  make  use  of  the 
things  around  them  until  this  city  grew  to  be  wealthy, 
and  finally  master  of  all  Italy,  and  then  of  every  country 
touching  the  Mediterranean. 

Out  over  a  plain  not  larger  than  an  average  western 
county,  Rome  slowly  spread,  during  a  period  of  three 
hundred  years,  learning  all  the  time  how  to  govern  the 
various   peoples  who  lived  in   the   lowlands.      Having 


152  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

learned  this  lesson  of  how  to  govern  herself,  she  spent 
the  next  two  hundred  years  in  conquering  the  high- 
landers —  the  rude  people  who  lived  up  in  the  moun- 
tain valleys  —  and  teaching  them  the  lessons  of  law  and 
order. 

Near  the  seashore,  throughout  the  plain  of  Latium, 
were  many  marshes  much  like  those  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Po.  These  in  the  hot  Italian  sun  became  full  of 
malaria,  and  the  people  who  braved  the  danger  of  fever 
had  to  build  great  drains  before  the  country  became 
healthy.  The  waters  of  "Yellow  Tiber,"  filled  with 
mud  swept  down  from  the  mountain  side,  could  not  be 
used  for  drinking  and  bathing,  so  the  people  constructed 
waterways  —  aqueducts,  they  called  them  —  from  the 
pure  mountain  springs  miles  away,  to  bring  water  to  the 
city.  This  taught  them  how  to  build  arches  in  tunneling 
the  mountains  and  bridging  the  rivers  and  valleys. 

The  mountains  were  filled  with  white  limestone,  which, 
if  placed  in  the  air,  became  hard  and  took  on  beautiful 
tints.  This  they  used  for  building  their  temples  and 
other  fine  buildings,  for  near  Rome  there  was  no  marble 
as  there  was  near  Athens.  From  the  old  volcanoes, 
too,  they  obtained  great  quantities  of  lava,  which  they 
used  in  building  roads  so  well  that  some  of  them 
remain  at  the  present  day. 

But  all  this  required  hundreds  of  years  of  work, 
and  the  people  who  patiently  did  these  things,  in  thus 
learning  to  rule  nature,  learned  at  the  same  time  to 
rule  men.  Rome's  last  great  work  in  history  was  to 
overcome  all  the  peoples  around  the  Mediterranean 
Sea,  and  to  teach  them  her  great  lessons  of  law  and 
order.     This  she  had  no  great  trouble  in  doing,  for  be- 


THE  GEOGRAPHY   OF   ITALY  153 

ing  in  the  very  center  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  having 
wonderful  power  for  governing  people,  she  had  but  to 
reach  her  mighty  arms  to  the  east  and  the  west  and  bind 
them  all  together  at  the  one  common  center  —  Rome  — 
through  the  great  lessons  of  industry  and  law  which 
she  taught  so  well  to  those  whom  she  overcame,  that 
they  were  never  forgotten. 

References 

How  and  Leigh :    History  of  Rome,  chap,  i ;    Longmans,   Green 

&  Co.,  N.Y. 
Myers  and  Allen :  Ancient  History ;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Duruy  :  History  of  Rome,  chap,  i ;  Estes  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Kemp  :    Outlines  of   History  for  Graded  and   District   Schools; 

Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 


ROME   IN    HER   INFANCY 

While  we  were  watching  Greece  win  her  freedom  on 
the  fields  of  Marathon  and  Plataea,  and  while  we  followed 
Alexander  into  the  far  East,  where  he  carried  Grecian 
arms  and  culture,  and  while  the  Egyptians  at  Alexan- 
dria were  taking  up  Grecian  thought  and  carrying  it 
back  to  the  land  of  the  Nile,  there  was  growing  up  on 
the  banks  of  the  Tiber  a  city  which  became,  because  of 
what  it  did,  the  greatest  city  of  the  world. 

It  was,  perhaps,  a  very  fortunate  thing  for  Rome  that 
these  other  great  peoples  had  affairs  of  their  own,  so 
that  she  was  left  undisturbed  to  grow  slowly,  as  all 
great  and  lasting  nations  must  grow. 

But  before  we  go  on  to  study  about  Rome,  let  us 
recall  to  mind  the  most  important  facts  about  the  country 
surrounding  Rome.  Only  two  or  three  days'  travel 
by  trireme  westward  from  the  beautiful  island-fringed 
Greece,  and  almost  in  the  very  middle  of  the  blue  Med- 
iterranean, is  where  the  people  lived  whom  we  are  to 
study  about  this  year.  We  might,  as  I  have  already 
told  you,  call  the  country  the  "  Boot  Country,"  for  it 
resembles  a  great  boot,  looking  as  if  it  were  hung  out 
into  the  water,  and  fastened  by  the  upper,  or  northern, 
end.  Look  at  the  map  and  see  what  a  long  coast  line  this 
gives  Italy,  and  how  friend  and  foe  alike  could  reach 
her  by  water.  This  fact  may  lead  Rome  to  become  a 
trading  people,  and  it  may  finally  lead  her  to  go  out  to 

154 


ROME   IN   HER   INFANCY  1 55 

the  peoples  around  the  Mediterranean  to  conquer  and 
to  rule  them.  You  notice  that  Italy  is  not  cut  to  pieces 
as  is  Greece  by  arms  of  the  sea  extending  far  into  the 
land,  nor  are  there  numerous  islands  scattered  around 
her  coasts  ;  nor  do  her  mountains,  which  have  good 
passes,  serve  to  divide  the  country  into  small  sections, 
so  much  as  do  those  of  Greece.  Thus,  because  the 
country  is  comparatively  united,  the  people  tend  to 
become  more  united. 

The  eastern  coast  has  no  good  harbors,  and  people 
would  seldom  enter  to  trade  from  that  side;  but  the 
western  coast  has  several  good  harbors  and  fertile  plains, 
and  it  is  from  this  side  that  Italy  invites  people  to  enter. 

We  shall  sail  into  the  best  harbor  along  the  coast. 
It  is  the  harbor  of  the  Tiber,  which  leads  us  into  a  beau- 
tiful plain,  where  the  sky  is  bluer  and  the  climate  pleas- 
anter  than  even  in  Greece,  if  such  a  thing  were  possible. 

Overlooking  this  beautiful  plain,  about  fifteen  miles 
up  the  river  Tiber,  are  the  hills  upon  which  Rome  was 
built.  In  early  times,  the  people  who  lived  in  Rome 
went  out  in  the  daytime  and  tilled  the  plain,  and  at 
night  returned  to  Rome  in  order  that  they  might  be 
protected.  From  this  it  would  seem  that  there  were 
enemies  near,  would  it  not  ?  Do  you  think  they  were 
wise  in  choosing  such  a  place  for  their  city  ?  Indeed 
it  was  a  very  wise  choice,  because  from  the  hills  they 
could  overlook  their  farms,  see  enemies  coming,  and 
protect  themselves  ;  and  the  river  too  was  at  hand,  upon 
which  they  could  sail  thirty  miles  or  so  above  Rome  and 
get  the  products,  and  then  float  them  out  to  sea,  and 
work  up  a  good  trade  with  the  people  living  on  the 
Mediterranean. 


156  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

At  first  in  Rome  all  land  and  trade  and  wealth  were 
owned  by  the  rich  people  alone,  but  in  time  the  poor 
people  came  to  have  little  farms  of  their  own,  which 
they  lived  upon  and  cultivated.  I  say  little  farms, 
but  you  will  be  surprised  when  you  know  just  how 
small  they  were.  Could  you  imagine  any  one  with  a 
family  living  upon  a  farm  of  only  three  or  four  acres,  or 
about  three  times  the  size  of  the  usual  school  square  ? 
Well,  the  father  of  the  little  Roman  boy  Marius  lived 
on  just  such  a  farm.  It  lay  favorably  on  a  gently  slop- 
ing hillside  facing  the  east,  for  there  the  early  sun  shone 
upon  it.  It  had  a  sandy  soil  which  was  easily  drained, 
and  it  was  surrounded  by  a  hedge  of  trees. 

The  little  farm  had  its  vineyard,  and  Marius  enjoyed 
going  about  it  with  his  father,  trimming  branches  here 
and  there,  for  he  knew  that  the  wine  of  the  grape  made 
a  large  part  of  their  living.  He  watched  the  olive 
orchard  as  it  grew,  and  in  the  proper  season  helped  his 
father  to  press  the  oil  from  the  olive.  The  Romans 
were  very  fond  of  olives,  and  the  oil  served  them  as 
butter. 

Marius,  of  course,  could  merely  help  in  the  things  that 
I  have  mentioned,  but  there  was  one  thing  that  he  and 
his  little  brother  could  do  alone,  and  that  was  to  tend 
the  garden  patch,  which,  to  be  sure,  was  not  very  large, 
but  sufficient,  if  well  tended,  for  the  father,  mother  and 
four  children,  —  for  Marius  had  two  sisters  and  a  brother 
also.  Do  you  think  a  family  of  six  could  have  many 
luxuries,  making  a  living  on  a  four-acre  farm  ? 

While  the  father  plowed  the  ground  with  a  rude 
plow  made  from  a  forked  sapling,  and  the  mother  and 
sisters  looked  after  the  broods  of  chickens  and  geese, 


ROME   IN    HER   INFANCY  1 57 

Marius  and  his  brother  carefully  tended  the  patches 
of  lettuce,  turnips,  onions,  cabbage,  carrots  and  many 
other  things  which  you  see  nowadays  growing  in  the 
gardens  in  the  United  States.  Marius  was  not  yet  old 
enough  to  follow  the  plow,  but  he  had  helped  his  father 
select  the  tree  from  which  the  plow  was  made,  and 
watched  his  father  make  it,  so  I  am  sure  he  could  tell 
you  just  how  it  was  made.  It  was  very  simple,  and  yet 
it  seems  a  little  strange  to  us  who  never  think  of  mak- 
ing our  own  plows.  But  the  early  Roman  farmers, 
having  no  manufactories,  had  to  make  all  their  plows  by 
hand ;  and  no  matter  how  poor  they  were,  they  could 
have  as  many  plows  as  they  wished,  for  all  they  had  to 
do  was  to  hunt  a  branched  sapling,  and  sharpen  the 
branch  into  a  long  point.  This  served  as  a  share,  to 
run  in  the  ground,  and  about  midway  of  the  longest 
part  a  handle  was  fastened ;  to  this  longer  part  was 
hitched  an  ox  to  draw  it.  Do  you  think  these  plows 
were  as  good  as  those  made  in  our  own  manufactories 
of  to-day  ?  No,  they  were  nothing  but  sharpened  wooden 
sticks,  and  besides  being  very  poor  for  turning  the  soil, 
they  were  hard  to  sharpen  and  soon  wore  dull  again. 

The  soil  for  the  wheat,  rye  and  millet  was  plowed 
with  this  plow,  and  when  the  grain  was  ripe,  it  was 
threshed  by  walking  oxen  over  it ;  the  chaff  was  sepa- 
rated from  the  grain  by  flinging  it  into  the  air  and 
letting  the  wind  blow  it  away.  After  grinding  the 
grain  between  two  stones,  arranged  much  as  our  coffee 
mills  are,  it  was  mixed  with  water  and  was  then  ready 
to  eat.  We  should  hardly  think  we  could  eat  it  without 
baking,  but  the  Romans  did  not  learn  to  bake  their  bread 
until  a  good  many  years  after  Rome  was  settled. 


158  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

The  principal  buildings  on  the  farm  were  Marius' 
home,  and,  a  little  apart  from  it,  the  sheds,  granaries 
and  coops  which  surrounded  the  open  court,  and  in 
which  the  hay,  grain,  wine,  oil  and  broods  were  stored 
and  kept.  Bees  had  a  home  here,  too.  The  Romans 
had  no  sugar,  so  Marius  ate  honey  in  the  place  of  sugar. 

It  would  not  do  to  forget  the  flock  of  sheep  which 
Marius  helped  drive  down  to  the  river  and  wash  off,  after 
which  he  watched  his  father  cut  the  great  fleece,  which 
the  mother  and  sisters  wove  by  hand  into  clothing. 

This  was  the  time  that  Marius  most  enjoyed,  for  it 
was  then  that  his  father  told  him  many  things  that  his 
father  had  told  to  him.  The  story  that  Marius  loved 
best  was  how  Rome,  the  city  on  the  hills  a  short  dis- 
tance away,  was  thought  to  have  been  founded.  I 
must  first  tell  you  that  nowadays  scholars  know  that 
the  Romans  just  imagined  some  of  the  things  they  told 
about  early  Rome ;  and  while  we  do  not  believe  every 
story  they  told,  they  did,  and  I  will  tell  you  the  story  of 
the  founding  of  Rome  just  as  Marius  used  to  hear  it 
from  his  father. 

A  wicked  king,  named  Amulius,  ruled  in  Alba  Longa, 
a  city  a  little  southeast  of  where  Rome  was  afterward 
built.  He  had  robbed  his  elder  brother  of  the  king- 
dom and  killed  his  brother's  sons.  But  there  was  a 
daughter  named  Rhea  Silvia  left,  and  fearing  lest  she 
should  marry  and  have  sons,  who  would  take  back  the 
kingdom  of  her  father,  he  made  her  priestess  of  Vesta. 
A  Vestal  virgin  or  priestess  of  Vesta  was  a  maiden 
who  watched  and  kept  the  sacred  fire  always  burning 
in  the  temple  of  Vesta.  You  see,  the  Romans,  as  well 
as   the   Egyptians,'  Phoenicians   and    other   people  we 


ROME    IN    HER    INFANCY  1 59 

have  studied,  used  fire  in  their  worship.  These  Vestal 
maidens  were  not  allowed  to  marry,  but  the  god  Mars 
married  Rhea  Silvia,  and  she  gave  birth  to  twins,  Romu- 
lus and  Remus.  When  Amulius  heard  this,  he  ordered 
the  babes  to  be  thrown  into  the  Tiber,  and  they  floated 
down  the  stream  until  they  were  washed  ashore  near  the 
place  where  Rome  was  afterward  built.  Here  they  were 
nursed  by  a  wolf,  and  afterward  were  found  and  brought 
up  by  a  shepherd.  When  they  had  grown  up,  they  were 
made  known  to  their  grandfather,  whom  they  restored 
to  the  throne  by  slaying  the  wicked  Amulius.  They 
then  determined  to  build  a  city  on  the  Tiber,  near  where 
they  had  been  saved. 

You  see,  the  wild  life  they  had  lived  made  them 
fierce  and  strong,  so  they  quarreled  about  whose  city  it 
should  be,  and  Remus  was  killed  in  the  quarrel.  Then 
Romulus  built  the  city,  and  called  it  Rome  after  his 
own  name.  He  was  its  first  king,  and  he  made  his 
city  great  in  war.  He  selected  old  men  called  senators 
to  advise  and  help  him  govern,  and  these  made  up  the 
senate  ;  only  the  sons  of  these  first  men,  and  then  their 
sons,  and  so  on  down,  could  become  senators  and  hold 
other  offices  in  the  state,  and  you  will  find  later  that 
this  brought  on  a  great  deal  of  trouble. 

After  Romulus  had  reigned  thirty-seven  years,  he 
was  taken  up  to  heaven  by  his  father  Mars,  and  the 
Romans  worshiped  him  as  a  god. 

As  was  said,  Romulus  made  his  city  great  in  war. 
Now  fighting  makes  people  fierce  and  rough,  so  when 
wise  and  good  Numa  became  the  second  King  of  Rome, 
he  thought  his  people  ought  to  be  made  peace-loving 
and  taught  lessons  of  religion  ;  for  this  reason  he  turned 


160  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

their  attention  to  the  worship  of  the  gods  rather  than 
to  war. 

Whenever  there  was  war,  the  gates  of  the  temple  of 
Janus  were  open,  so  that  the  people  could  go  in  and 
pray.  Janus,  I  must  tell  you,  was  the  god  of  Beginnings, 
and  I  am  sure  you  can  guess  where  we  got  our  name  for 
January.  He  had  a  double  face,  and  thus  could  look 
backward  or  forward ;  but  in  Numa's  reign  he  was  no 
longer  seen,  for  during  the  thirty-nine  years  of  Numa's 
rule  Rome  was  without  war,  and  moved  along  in  perfect 
happiness. 

Numa  also  appointed  priests,  who  were  to  dance  and 
sing  through  the  street  in  a  procession  once  a  year,  carry- 
ing the  twelve  sacred  shields.  During  a  famine  in  Rome 
the  god  Mars  is  said  to  have  dropped  a  shield  from 
heaven  as  a  sign  of  protection  to  Rome.  Numa  then 
had  eleven  others  made,  which  looked  exactly  like  this 
one,  so  that  if  any  one  attempted  to  steal  or  destroy 
the  sacred  shield,  he  could  not  tell  it  from  the  others. 

Because  Numa  was  so  wise  and  good,  and  taught  the 
people  how  to  worship  the  gods,  they  believed  he 
talked  with  a  goddess,  Egeria,  who  told  him  what  was 
best  for  his  people  and  how  they  might  please  the 
gods.  Egeria  led  him  through  the  sacred  groves,  told 
him  how  to  consult  the  gods  by  the  lightning  and  the 
flight  of  birds ;  and  so  much  did  she  come  to  love  him, 
that  when  he  died  Egeria  melted  away  in  tears  into  a 
fountain. 

There  were  five  other  kings,  the  last  being  Tarquin 
the  Proud,  who  ruled  very  harshly  ;  he  was  a  warrior  and 
made  Rome  more  powerful  among  the  surrounding 
people,  but  at  last  the   Romans  could  endure  him  no 


ROME    IN    HER    INFANCY  l6l 

longer,  so  they  rose  against  him,  and  drove  him  and 
his  family  out.  They  then  elected,  to  serve  for  a  year 
at  a  time,  in  place  of  the  king,  two  men,  called  consuls. 
The  consuls  were  to  preside  over  the  senate,  and  lead 
the  army  in  battle.  If  in  war  the  state  was  in  great 
danger  and  the  consuls  were  likely  to  be  defeated,  they 
could  elect  a  dictator  who  could  rule  Rome  without 
asking  consuls,  senate  or  anybody  else,  but  who  could 
serve  no  longer  than  six  months.  When  King  Tarquin 
was  driven  out,  he  went  to  Porsena,  the  king  of  the 
country  north  of  Rome,  and  persuaded  him  to  lead  an 
army  against  Rome,  and  place  him  —  Tarquin  —  again 
on  the  throne.  The  news  soon  reached  Rome  that 
the  enemy  had  captured  Janiculum,  a  hill  just  across  the 
Tiber  from  the  city.  A  bridge  had  been  built  by  the 
Romans  from  Rome  to  this  hill,  and  so  they  feared  that 
Porsena  with  his  army  would  soon  cross  and  take  their 
city.  Horatius,  with  two  brave  companions,  crossed 
the  bridge  to  the  Janiculum  side,  and  forced  the  enemy 
back  until  the  people  in  Rome  could  cut  down  the 
bridge  behind  the  brave  boys.  As  the  bridge  tottered 
and  was  about  to  fall,  Horatius'  companions  rushed 
back  and  reached  Rome  just  as  it  fell;  but  brave 
Horatius  stood  until  it  went  down,  with  thirty  thousand 
foes  before  him  and  the  great  river  behind.  He  then 
turned  and  said  :  — 

"  Oh,  Tiber  !  Father  Tiber, 
To  whom  the  Romans  pray, 
A  Roman's  life,  a  Roman's  arms, 
Take  thou  in  charge  this  day," 

and  then  he  plunged  headlong  into  the  stream.  The 
enemy  on  one  side,  and  his  friends  on  the  other,  were 


162  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

silent  with  awe  at  such  great  bravery ;  and  when  he 
reached  the  shore,  he  was  received  with  great  rejoicing, 

and 

"  They  gave  him  of  the  corn-land, 

That  was  of  public  right, 

As  much  as  two  strong  oxen 

Could  plow  from  morn  till  night ; 

And  they  made  a  molten  image, 

And  set  it  up  on  high, 

And  there  it  stands  unto  this  day, 

To  witness  if  I  lie." 

Rome  had  many  such  brave  men.  Do  you  think  such 
people  were  likely  to  be  conquered  ?  These  stories  the 
Romans  believed  and  loved  to  tell,  and  I  am  glad  they 
have  come  down  to  us,  too.  As  I  told  you,  they  contain 
truth  and  fable  and  fancy,  all  mixed  together,  but  the 
Romans  believed  them  so  firmly  that  they  were  influ- 
enced by  them  almost  as  much  as  if  they  had  been  en- 
tirely true.  They  made  the  Romans  a  brave,  obedient, 
patriotic,  people,  —  in  fact,  I  know  of  none  who  were 
ever  more  so. 

At  first  Rome  was  only  a  few  houses  upon  a  hill,  near 
the  river ;  it  grew  in  numbers,  because  men  came  to  live 
within  its  mud  walls,  to  be  safe  from  their  enemies  and 
to  trade ;  and  as  it  grew  in  numbers  it  grew  in  power, 
until  the  mud  wall,  which  at  first  surrounded  only  one 
hill,  was  changed  to  a  stone  wall  surrounding  six  others 
lying  near ;  and  thus  Rome  became  known  as  the  City 
of  Seven  Hills. 

Some  of  the  men  were  merchants  and  went  up  and 
down  the  Tiber  River  in  their  boats,  but  the  greater  part 
of  the  people  at  this  early  time  were  farmers,  who  tilled 
the  land  which  lay  about  the  city,  and  from  which  their 


ROME   IN    HER   INFANCY  1 63 

principal  supply  of  food  came.  When  you  think  of 
Rome,  therefore,  in  early  times,  you  must  always  under- 
stand it  meant  both  the  city  and  the  land  around  it. 

It  was  on  one  of  these  farms  close  to  Rome,  as  I  told 
you,  that  Marius  lived.  He  not  only  hears  these  stories 
from  his  father,  but  he  and  his  little  neighbor  Cato 
often  talk  about  them.  Only  yesterday  Cato  told 
Marius  that  his  oldest  brother  was  one  of  the  priests 
who  carried  the  sacred  shields,  and  that  next  year  his 
sister  would  be  eight  years  old  and  was  to  become  a 
Vestal  virgin,  and  that  then  he  would  hardly  ever  see 
her.  Marius  wondered  why  one  of  his  sisters  had 
never  been  a  priestess  of  Vesta,  for  he  thought  it 
must  be  very  delightful  to  be  dressed  in  white  robes 
and  snowy  linen  in  the  great  temple  and  keep  the  fire 
burning  upon  the  altar,  carry  the  sacred  water  from 
the  fountain  of  Egeria  and  thus  to  serve  the  sacred 
goddess;  he  often  hoped,  too,  when  he  became  a  man 
that  he  might  be  one  of  the  priests.  Other  things 
about  him  often  brought  questions  to  his  mind  and 
longings  to'  his  little  heart.  The  farm  of  Cato's  father 
was  much  larger  than  their  own,  and  Cato  and  his 
father  had  several  slaves  to  do  their  work.  One  of  the 
slaves  often  told  Cato  many  stories,  and  taught  him  to 
write  on  a  waxen  tablet  with  a  stilus ;  and  thus  he  was 
being  educated,  and  Marius  was  not.  Cato's  father 
sometimes  took  him  to  the  senate,  where  he  saw  the 
senators  in  their  white  woolen  togas,  or  cloaks  with 
purple  hems.  Marius  had  been  to  Rome  with  his  father 
and  had  been  in  the  busy  market  place,  or  forum,  a 
number  of  times;  he  had  seen  and  worshiped  in  the 
temple  of  Mars,  for  Mars  was  the  god  who  kept  off  sick- 


164  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

ness  from  the  cattle  and  sheep  and  kept  the  grain  from 
blight  and  disease  ;  he  had  seen  the  temple  of  Minerva, 
and  prayed  to  her  often,  for  she  was  the  goddess  who 
gave  wisdom  to  all;  but  Marius  had  never  visited  the 
senate,  and  he  wondered  why  his  father  had  not  taken 
him  there,  too. 

That  night  he  asked  his  father  why  he  did  not  have 
slaves  as  Cato's  father  had,  and  if  he  might,  when  he  was 
a  man,  go  to  Rome  and  be  one  of  the  priests,  —  for 
Cato's  elder  brother  was  one,  —  and  if  he  would  take 
him  to  visit  the  senate.  His  father  then  told  him  that 
when  Romulus  chose  the  senators,  there  were  only  a 
few  families  in  Rome,  and  that  the  senators  were  the 
heads  of  these  old  families.  But  as  Rome  grew,  many 
new  people  came  there  to  live  and  trade  who  had  no 
place  in  the  old  families,  and  so  had  no  share  in  the 
government.  But  that  was  not  all :  these  old  families,  or 
patricians,  as  they  were  called,  thought  that  because  they 
were  older  they  were  better,  and  so  looked  down  upon 
those  who  came  later.  "  They  have  done  this  for  years," 
said  his  father,  "  and  still  they  expect  us  to  fight  when 
the  rough  plunderers  come  down  from  the  mountain 
regions  in  search  of  booty,  drive  away  our  flocks  and 
herds,  take  our  grain,  and  burn  and  ruin  our  farms ; 
and  yet  for  all  this  fighting  we  receive  no  pay.  The 
land  we  get  by  war  the  patricians  alone  use  for  pastur- 
ing their  sheep  and  cattle ;  that  is  why  our  neighbor 
has  wealth  and  luxury  and  a  large  farm,  and  slaves  to 
do  the  work  upon  it. 

"  Only  a  few  years  ago,"  he  continued,  "  the  plebeians 
were  treated  so  badly  that  they  marched  out  of  Rome 
in  a  body,  to  the  Sacred  Mount  not   far   from  Rome, 


ROME   IN    HER   INFANCY  1 65 

where  they  thought  they  would  make  a  city  for  them- 
selves and  let  Rome  fight  her  own  battles  ;  but  the 
patricians  promised,  if  they  would  come  back,  that  the 
plebeians  might  have  officers,  called  tribunes,  to  protect 
them  from  wrong.  These  tribunes  left  the  doors  of 
their  houses  open  day  and  night,  so  that  any  who  sought 
refuge  might  find  it  in  their  homes ;  and  the  patrician 
senate  agreed,  also,  that  the  tribunes  might  stand  at  the 
door  of  the  senate  and  forbid  the  passage  of  any  law 
which  would  oppress  the  poor  people.  We  are  still 
struggling  for  our  rights,  my  boy,  and  I  hope  by  the 
time  you  are  a  man  things  will  be  so  that  you  may  be 
a  priest,  but  now  only  the  patricians  can  be  selected ; 
and  now  you  know  also  why  you  have  never  visited 
the  senate." 

The  father  told  Marius  all  this,  but  he  did  not  tell 
him  what  would  happen  if  the  mountaineers  should 
come  down  upon  them  and  destroy  their  crops,  and 
attack  the  valley  farmers  and  then  Rome.  But  Marius 
was  soon  to  know.  Only  the  next  week,  not  long  after 
harvest,  messengers  were  sent  by  the  Roman  consuls 
out  among  the  Roman  farmers  to  summon  to  Rome  all 
men  who  were  able  to  fight.  One  of  the  consuls  then 
led  them  to  battle  against  the  people  who  lived  in  the 
surrounding  mountains,  but  not  till  the  army,  which 
had  gathered  at  Rome,  went  to  the  temple  of  Mars 
and  offered  sacrifices  and  asked  the  help  of  the  god 
whom  they  thought  went  always  before  them  in  battle. 
Marius'  father  offered  wheat  to  Mars  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  cattle,  fields  and  flocks,  and  a  measure  of 
barley  to  Vesta  for  the  safe-keeping  of  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren, and  departed  for  the  war.     He  was  gone  several 


166  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

months,  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Marius  and  the 
rest  of  the  family  worked  faithfully  on  the  little  farm, 
offered  sacrifices  each  day  on  the  hearth-stone  to  Vesta 
and  Mars,  to  protect  their  father,  their  home  and  their 
crops,  when  the  father  returned  his  farm  had  been  over- 
run and  plundered  by  the  rude  shepherds  and  moun- 
taineers who  swept  down  from  the  upland  hollows, 
buildings  were  destroyed,  fields  laid  waste,  and  the  little 
herd  of  sheep  and  goats  driven  away.  But  the  father, 
who  had  fought  so  bravely  in  the  war,  struggled  yet 
more  bravely  to  support  his  family  and  save  his  little 
farm.  In  order  that  the  family  might  have  food  and 
clothing  when  winter  came,  he  was  compelled  to  bor- 
row money  from  a  wealthy  patrician;  for  as  I  told 
you,  he  received  no  pay  for  serving  in  the  army,  and 
since  his  crops  and  stock  had  been  stolen,  he,  must 
borrow  money  or  see  suffering  and  disease  come  to  his 
wife  and  children.  This  threw  him  in  debt,  and  his  little 
farm  did  not  grow  enough  for  him  ever  to  repay  it.  Do 
you  begin  to  see  how  impossible  it  was,  with  wars  and 
robbers  and  little  farms,  for  the  early  Roman  plebeians 
to  keep  free  from  debt  ?  Well,  as  time  went  on,  what 
do  you  suppose  happened  to  Marius*  father  ?  By  so 
much  service  in  the  army,  and  by  frequent  destruction 
of  his  crops,  all  his  struggles,  and  the  help  of  his  noble 
little  son,  were  not  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  pay  the 
patrician  from  whom  he  had  borrowed  the  money. 
His  farm  was  at  first  taken  from  him,  and  finally  the 
father  himself  thrown  into  prison.  In  those  olden  times 
each  patrician  house  had  its  own  prison  in  which  to 
punish  the  poor  people  who  could  not  pay  their  debts. 
Another  hardship  for  the  plebeian  arose  from  his  ig- 


ROME   IN   HER  INFANCY  1 67 

norance  of  the  law.  What  would  you  think  if  parents 
or  teachers  never  told  you  plainly  and  clearly  what  was 
the  proper  thing  to  do,  and  yet  punished  you  if  you  did 
not  do  it  ?  You  would  of  course  think  that  very  wrong. 
Well,  you  will  sympathize  with  the  plebeians  of  early 
Rome  then,  for  this  is  the  way  the  patricians  treated 
them.  The  patricians  had  teachers  and  had  been 
taught  the  laws  when  they  were  children,  but  they  had 
never  allowed  the  plebeians  to  know  what  the  laws 
were,  because  by  keeping  the  plebeians  ignorant,  the 
patricians  could  punish  them  for  anything  they  wished, 
or  take  their  property  from  them  and  say  it  was  the 
law.  But  the  plebs  kept  struggling  to  work  out  some 
way  to  know  the  law ;  for,  they  said,  "  How  can  we 
obey  the  law  unless  we  know  what  it  is  ? " 

After  a  struggle  of  ten  years,  ten  men  were  appointed 
to  write  down  the  laws  of  Rome.  Before  this  the  laws 
had  been  told  by  father  to  son.  Do  you  suppose  when 
the  laws  were  written  they  were  written  on  paper  and 
printed  in  newspapers  ?  Not  at  all ;  for  there  was  then 
in  Rome  neither  writing-paper,  nor  newspapers,  nor 
scarcely  any  books.  These  laws  were  placed  in  the 
Forum,  where  every  man  and  boy  went  very  often  to 
trade  and  attend  to  other  things,  and  thus  could  learn 
them.  They  were  written  on  twelve  bronze  tablets, 
and  were  called  "  The  Twelve  Tablets  of  the  Law."  It 
was  a  very  great  help  to  the  plebeians  to  get  these  laws 
all  plainly  written  out.  Some  of  these  laws  were  very 
similar  to  those  we  have  to-day,  but  one  like  this  we 
should  think  very  strange :  a  man  had  control  over  his 
wife  and  sons  and  daughters  (until  they  were  married), 
and  could  sell  them  if  he  chose. 


168  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

The  struggle  between  the  patricians  and  the  plebeians 
lasted  about  four  hundred  years  from  the  founding  of 
Rome,  until  step  by  step  the  plebs  were  victorious,  and 
stood  equal  in  every  way  with  the  patricians.  They 
could  be  senators,  consuls,  or  priests,  and  finally  little 
plebeian  girls  could  become  Vestal  virgins  as  well  as 
patrician.  So,  while  I  do  not  think  Marius  ever  got  to 
be  a  priest,  he  probably  lived  to  see  his  son  one. 

Often  while  this  struggle  was  going  on  within  Rome 
herself,  there  were  other  wars,  as  I  have  been  telling 
you,  with  the  ^Equians,  Volscians,  Etruscans,  Samnites, 
and  other  mountain  tribes,  living  north,  east  and  south, 
but  Rome  was  conqueror  over  all;  for  in  the  long 
struggle  among  themselves  they  had  learned  obedience, 
self-control  and  courage,  and  by  learning  to  rule  them- 
selves had  learned  to  rule  others. 

As  we  go  on  with  our  work  I  will  tell  you  about  these 
different  wars,  —  first,  about  the  Dictator,  Cincinnatus, 
and  then  how  bravely  the  Romans  defended  the  citadel 
when  the  fair-haired  Gauls  came  from  the  North  against 
them,  and  how  the  Samnites  fought  and  were  overcome, 
and  how,  after  holding  out  for  some  time,  the  Greek 
cities  along  the  southern  coast  were  taken,  and  their 
Grecian  leader  Pyrrhus,  with  his  elephants,  driven  away. 
But  I  must  now  tell  you  a  little  about  how  Rome  gov- 
erned this  great  "  Boot  Country,"  which  she  had  gained 
through  these  wars.  I  have  briefly  told  you  how,  when 
she  conquered  a  people,  say  the  Samnites,  she  would 
take  part  of  the  land  and  send  some  of  the  citizens  of 
Rome  to  live  upon  it,  and  form  a  little  state  among  the 
people,  which  became  like  Rome.  The  wild  unculti- 
vated people  living  around  these  "  little  Romes,"  so  to 


ROME    IN   HER    INFANCY  1 69 

speak,  were  greatly  influenced  by  the  citizens  from  Rome, 
and  gradually  adopted  their  language,  customs  and 
institutions,  until  all  Italy  gradually  became  like  Rome. 
Rome  made  it  easy  to  govern  these  conquered  people 
in  another  way.  She  built  great  roads.  Let  us  see 
how  these  were  made :  First  it  was  decided  where  the 
road  should  run  —  over  the  plains,  through  the  hollows 
and  over  the  hills.  Then  the  breadth,  which  was 
enough  for  four  horses  abreast,  was  laid  out  by  cutting 
wide  trenches.  In  digging  the  trenches,  earth  was 
thrown  out  until  solid  ground  was  reached,  so  that  the 
foundation  would  be  firm  ;  then  there  was  placed  in  the 
trench  a  layer  of  small  stones;  next,  on  top  of  this, 
broken  stones  cemented  with  lime;  then,  as  a  third 
layer,  a  mixture  of  lime,  clay  and  beaten  fragments  of 
brick  and  pottery  ;  and  finally,  as  a  fourth  and  last  layer, 
a  mixture  of  pounded  gravel  and  lime,  or  a  pavement  of 
hard  flat  stones. 

These  roads  were  built  in  all  directions  to  different 
parts  of  Italy,  from  Rome,  until  they  looked  like  a  great 
spider  web,  with  Rome  as  a  spider  in  the  center,  catch- 
ing everything  and  drawing  it  into  its  power.  When 
Rome  conquered  a  new  country,  the  roads  were  always 
extended  into  it.  You  see,  by  means  of  these  high- 
ways Rome  could  send  soldiers  quickly  where  they  were 
needed,  for  the  roads  were  never  out  of  order ;  and 
notwithstanding  she  had  no  newspapers,  and  of  course 
no  railroads,  it  is  astonishing  how  quickly  messages  or 
troops  could  be  sent  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the 
other. 

Thus  you  have  seen  how  the  town  of  Rome,  starting 
as  a  little  village  of  mud  huts  on  the  Tiber,  gradually 


170  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

spread  over  the  Seven  Hills  and  along  the  river  banks 
and  out  over  the  plain,  growing  richer  and  stronger  all 
the  time,  and  by  her  struggles  at  home  between  plebeians 
and  patricians,  learned  lessons  of  courage,  patience  and 
perseverance.  After  this,  Rome,  having  learned  these 
lessons,  was  able  to  go  out  and  conquer  all  the  hill  and 
mountain  peoples  and  teach  them  to  obey  her.  When 
Rome  had  done  all  this,  she  was  strong  enough  to  con- 
quer the  greatest  enemy  she  ever  had.  This  was  Car- 
thage ;  and  we  shall  soon  see  how  she  did  it,  and  as  a 
result  became  master  of  the  whole  Mediterranean  Sea. 

References 

Ihne  :  Early  Rome;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 

Harding  :  The  City  of  the  Seven  Hills;  Scott-Foresman  Co.,  Chi- 
cago. 

Guerber  :  The  Story  of  the  Romans  ;  American  Bk.  Co.,  Cincinnati. 

Morris  :  Historical  Tales  (Roman)  ;  Lippincott  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 

Preston  and  Dodge  :  The  Private  Life  of  the  Romans ;  H.  B.  San- 
born, Boston. 

Ramsay  and  Lanciani  :  Manual  of  Roman  Antiquities ;  Scribners 
Sons,  N.Y. 

Myers  and  Allen  :  Ancient  History ;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 

How  and  Leigh  :  A  History  of  Rome  to  the  Death  of  Caesar ;  Long- 
mans, Green  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

Kemp  :  Outlines  of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools ;  Ginn 
&  Co.,  Boston. 

Study  the  biographies  of  Cincinnatus  and  Coriolanus  in  contrast, 
with  a  view  to  leading  the  pupils  to  see  some  of  the,  true 
qualities  of  patriotism. 


THE   STRUGGLE   BETWEEN    ROME   AND 
CARTHAGE 

We  have  now  seen  the  little  city  of  Rome,  beginning 
as  a  few  mud  huts  on  a  single  hill,  increase  in  size  and 
power  till  it  came  to  rule  the  whole  peninsula  of  Italy. 
As  Rome's  power  grew  southward  she  met  another  great 
city,  on  the  southern  coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  —  a 
city  so  strong  and  so  rich  that  the  wealthy  traders  in 
Rome,  the  Roman  senate,  and  even  the  plain  farmers 
in  the  country  regions  throughout  Italy,  grew  jealous  of 
it  and  spent  much  of  the  time  for  more  than  a  hundred 
years  (264  B.C.- 146  B.C.)  in  conquering  and  destroying 
it.  I  must  now  tell  you  how  this  city  was  founded,  how 
it  grew  rich,  and  how  it  fought  against  Rome  for  its 
very  life. 

You  remember  in  the  second  grade  we  studied  about 
King  Hiram's  country,  the  country  of  the  Phoenicians? 
Many  times  we  saw  those  brave  sailors  push  out  from 
their  rocky  and  mountainous  shore  and  start  out  on  their 
ships.  All  the  time  since  we  first  saw  them,  down  to 
the  time  when  they  began  to  fight  with  Rome  —  fully 
five  hundred  years — the  Phoenicians  have  been  coloniz- 
ing and  planting  trading-posts  wherever  they  have  gone. 
A  long  time  ago,  about  a  hundred  years  before  Rome 
was  founded,  they  established  a  little  trading-post  on  the 
northern  coast  of  Africa,  far  away  from  their  own  home 

171 


172  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

country ;  and  this  little  town  grew  rapidly  till  it  came  to 
be  as  large  a  city  as  Rome  itself.  It  is  now,  264  years 
before  Christ  was  born,  the  largest  Phoenician  city  in 
the  world.  Since  Tyre  was  destroyed,  as  you  remember, 
by  Alexander  the  Great,  332  years  before  Christ,  this 
new  city  has  become  the  most  important  Phoenician  city, 
and  you  would  be  really  right  in  calling  it  New  Tyre. 
So  now  let  us  take  a  look  at  New  Tyre,  or  Carthage, 
as  it  was  called,  and  see  why  it  grew  to  be  so  large. 

Carthage  was  on  the  southern  coast  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, about  halfway  between  Phoenicia  and  Spain. 
For  hundreds  of  years  it  had  been  a  good  stopping  place 
for  the  ships  in  their  long  travels  eastward  and  west- 
ward. It  was  also  in  the  valley  of  the  river  Bagradas, 
the  richest  grain  district  of  northern  Africa.  In  size 
it  was,  at  the  time  Rome  declared  war  against  it,  larger 
than  St.  Louis,  and  it  was  a  very  beautiful  city.  Its 
center  was  a  great  rock,  the  Byrsa,  which  served 
the  Carthaginians  as  a  good  place  of  defense,  as  the 
Acropolis  did  the  Athenians.  Here  were  built  the  chief 
temples  and  storehouses,  which  held  enough  food  for 
the  fifty  thousand  soldiers  who  lived  there  and  defended 
the  city  when  it  was  attacked.  The  Byrsa  was  two  hun- 
dred feet  high.  Wherever  its  sides  were  sloping  and 
easily  climbed,  there  were  thick  walls  built.  North  of  the 
Acropolis  was  the  new  city,  or  Megara,  as  it  was  called. 

The  houses  and  temples  of  Carthage  were  peculiar. 
The  people  did  not  like  straight  lines,  so  they  built  their 
houses  or  rooms  round  or  circular.  They  built  mostly  of 
stone,  made  of  pieces  of  rock  cemented  together  with 
fine  sand  and  lime.  The  streets  were  beautiful  and  had 
fine  shady  walks.     These  were  adorned  with  statues  ob- 


STRUGGLE  BETWEEN  ROME  AND  CARTHAGE  173 

tained  from  the  Greek  cities  of  Sicily  during  war,  for  Car- 
thage fought  the  Greeks  in  Sicily  very  much,  and  carried 
home  much  of  the  rich  art  they  found  there.  The  Cartha- 
ginians themselves  did  not  make  beautiful  statues  and 
pictures,  as  the  Greeks  did.  As  Carthage  stood  upon  an 
isthmus,  or  narrow  projection  into  the  sea,  it  could  be 
easily  defended.  The  city  was  separated  from  the  main- 
land by  three  thick  walls  running  side  by  side.  These 
were  forty-five  feet  high  and  thirty-three  feet  thick. 
Why  did  they  build  them  so  thick  ?  Well,  they  were  cut 
up  into  rooms,  and  within  them  soldiers  lived.  Some  also 
served  as  stables  for  the  horses  and  elephants.  In  fact, 
within  them  could  be  kept  at  one  time  three  hundred 
elephants  of  war,  four  thousand  horses,  and  twenty-four 
thousand  soldiers,  with  their  armor  and  all  the  materials 
of  war.  On  the  walls  towers  four  stories  high  were 
built  at  intervals,  from  which  the  Carthaginians  could 
watch  any  enemy  that  might  come  against  them.  As  I 
have  said,  these  three  walls  ran  on  the  mainland  part 
way  around  the  city,  but  one  of  them  extended  entirely 
around,  a  distance  of  twenty-four  miles,  running  right 
along  on  the  water  front.  Thus  the  enemy  could  not 
land  an  army  in  the  city  from  their  ships.  What  a 
strongly  fortified  city  this  must  have  been  !  Its  massive 
walls  make  us  think  of  Old  Tyre. 

Now  let  us  imagine  the  harbor  of  Carthage.  It  was 
round,  and  looked  as  a  great  circus  would  if  it  were  all 
scooped  out  in  the  center  and  filled  with  water.  In  this 
harbor  gathered  hundreds  of  ships  from  all  directions, 
and  of  all  sizes.  There  were  triremes  much  like  those 
the  Greeks  used ;  there  were  also  larger  ships,  with  five 
rows  of  oars,  and  therefore  called  quinqueremes.     It  is 


174  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

said  that  these  vessels  could  be  rowed  as  fast  as  our 
modern  war-vessels  can  travel.  How  like  a  swarming 
beehive  the  scene  must  have  been  around  the  harbor 
as  the  ships  went  out  and  in  laden  with  products  from 
all  parts  of  the  world.  Here  were  vessels  from  the 
eastern  Mediterranean.  They  were  laden  with  linen 
from  Egypt,  gold  and  pearls  from  the  East,  frankin- 
cense from  Arabia,  oil  and  wine  from  India,  copper 
from  Cyprus,  and  pottery  and  fine  wines  from  Greece. 
Here  also  was  a  trireme  coming  in  from  the  North.  It 
had  honey  and  wax  from  Corsica,  and  iron  from  the 
island  of  Elba,  north  of  Corsica. 

But  the  quinqueremes  had  traveled  to  distant  seas  — 
much  farther  than  the  ships  of  any  other  nation  had 
dared  to  go.  Some  came  from  the  Baltic  Sea,  where 
they  got  amber ;  others  from  England,  where  tin  was 
obtained.  On  the  way  back  they  touched  at  Spain, 
where  they  obtained  much  silver  from  her  rich  mines. 
Other  quinqueremes  passed  Spain  at  the  Pillars  of  Her- 
cules, the  narrow  gateway  from  the  Mediterranean  out 
into  the  Atlantic,  and  then  crept  down  the  coast  of 
Africa,  as  far  as  the  Niger  River.  Here  they  obtained 
slaves,  ivory,  lion  and  panther  skins,  salt  from  the  salt 
lakes  and  salt  mines  of  the  desert,  fruits,  gold  and  pre- 
cious stones  from  the  African  coast.  Carthage  took  these 
products,  manufactured  them  into  goods,  loaded  her 
ships  with  them,  and  set  out  again  to  trade  with  peoples 
in  all  parts  of  the  world.  Now,  when  we  see  these 
riches  flowing  in  from  every  quarter  of  the  world,  we 
do  not  wonder  that  Carthage  grew  rich,  became  the 
mistress  of  the  sea,  and,  in  the  third  century  before 
Christ,  was  the  wealthiest  city  perhaps  in  the  world. 


STRUGGLE   BETWEEN   ROME  AND   CARTHAGE     175 

But  I  have  not  yet  told  you  all  about  Carthage.  Like 
Rome,  she  was  a  conquering  country,  and  after  several 
centuries  came  to  own  and  control  a  vast  surrounding 
country.  At  first,  as  I  told  you,  Carthage  was  a  mere 
trading-post.  For  a  great  many  years  she  paid  rents  to 
the  natives  around  her  for  the  use  of  their  land,  because 
at  first  she  did  not  wish  to  own  land  herself,  but  was 
content  to  carry  on  a  city  trade.  As  time  went  on  the 
Greeks  began  to  move  into  their  city.  Carthage  then 
saw  that  if  she  did  not  keep  them  out,  the  number  of 
the  Greeks  would  gradually  increase,  and  finally  the  Car- 
thaginians would  be  crowded  out,  just  as  the  Greeks  had 
crowded  out  the  .Phoenicians  in  southern  Italy.  Of 
course  Carthage  had  no  right  to  order  the  Greeks  to 
stay  out  of  the  country  about  her,  for  it  did  not  belong 
to  her.  But  at  last,  four  hundred  years  after  she  had 
been  paying  rent  to  the  natives,  she  refused  to  do  so 
any  longer,  and  took  possession  of  it.  Carthage  now 
ordered  the  Greeks  to  stay  out,  and  began  pushing  the 
tribes  about  her  farther  and  farther  back  into  the  coun- 
try, and  claiming  all  the  conquered  land  for  herself. 
In  this  way  the  nobles  of  Carthage  got  immense  farms. 
But  after  getting  them  they  must  get  men  to  till  them, 
for  the  Carthaginian  nobles  did  not  work  much  them- 
selves. Now  you  must  see  how  Carthage  obtained  her 
laborers. 

Let  us  again  follow  the  quinqueremes  as  they  go  on 
their  journeys.  Hundreds  of  them  sail  westward,  past 
the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  and  creep  down  the  western 
coast  of  Africa.  Here  at  night  hundreds  of  men  slip 
into  the  negro  villages  and  snatch  the  sleeping  negro 
men,  women  and  children  from  their  homes,  bind  them 


176  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

in  chains  and  load  them  on  their  ships.  Thus  thousands 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  negro  slaves  are  carried 
into  Carthage.  They  are  then  sold  to  the  nobles,  sent 
out  to  the  great  farms,  and  forced  to  work  under  the 
lash.  It  is  said  that  many  single  farmers  owned  as  many 
as  twenty  thousand  slaves.  So  you  can  easily  see  how 
the  Carthaginians  made  part  of  their  money ;  it  was  by 
slave-labor,  not  by  their  own.  Do  you  believe  these 
slaves  would  love  Carthage  and  the  great  farms  as 
much  as  the  Roman  farmers  loved  Rome  and  the  little 
farms  which  they  had  made  by  their  own  toil  ? 

Gradually,  as  Carthage  grew  to  be  a  great  country  at 
home,  she  established  trading-posts  wherever  she  went, 
just  as  Tyre  had  done.  At  the  time  at  which  we  are 
studying,  —  that  is,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
before  Christ  was  born,  —  she  extended  along  the  north- 
ern coast  of  Africa  from  Egypt  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  a 
distance  of  one  thousand  six  hundred  miles,  or  farther 
than  from  St.  Louis  to  New  York.  She  owned  Corsica 
and  Sardinia ;  also  cities  in  Spain  and  western  Sicily. 
You  shall  hear  more  of  why  she  wished  Sicily  after  a 
while. 

But  I  must  tell  you  that  Carthage  treated  the  people 
whom  she  ruled  quite  differently  from  the  way  Rome 
at  this  time  treated  her  subjects.  You  already  know 
how  Rome  built  fine  roads  to  her  conquered  cities, 
compelled  them  to  trade  with  her,  and  soon  made  them 
proud  to  be  called  Romans.  The  tribes  about  Carthage 
hated  her  because  she  oppressed  them  sorely  and  made 
them  pay  exceedingly  heavy  taxes.  For  example, 
Leptis,  a  small  city  south  of  Carthage,  is  said  to  have 
paid  $400,000  in  taxes  every  year ;  and  to  make  a  dollar 


STRUGGLE  BETWEEN  ROME  AND  CARTHAGE  177 

then  perhaps  required  as  much  work  as  to  make  ten 
dollars  now.  If  any  of  the  cities  delayed  the  least  in  the 
payment  of  taxes,  or  grumbled,  the  leading  citizens  were 
put  in  chains,  beheaded,  or  crucified  at  once.  The  sur- 
rounding tribes  were  compelled  to  raise  only  such  crops 
as  Carthage  required,  and  to  supply  whatever  she  or- 
dered ;  no  one  was  allowed  to  own  a  weapon  of  any 
sort,  because  Carthage  was  always  afraid  of  a  rebellion  ; 
if  a  village  rebelled  against  Carthage,  all  the  inhabitants 
were  sold  into  slavery. 

You  may  wonder  why  all  these  tribes  permitted  this 
so  long.  I  will  tell  you  the  main  reason.  With  part  of 
the  taxes  obtained  from  her  subjects,  Carthage  hired 
people  to  fight  for  her.  Most  of  her  own  citizens  would 
not  fight,  for  they  were  too  busy  trading.  Now  you  can 
see  if  a  time  comes  when  Carthage  is  unable  to  pay  her 
soldiers,  or  if  any  other  country  is  able  to  pay  more  than 
Carthage,  we  shall  not  be  surprised  to  find  the  people 
she  has  conquered  and  oppressed  fighting  against  her. 
How  different  all  this  is  from  Rome  at  this  time !  The 
Roman  farmers,  almost  to  a  man,  proudly  fought  for 
Rome,  because  Rome  gave  them  good  laws,  protected 
their  homes,  built  roads  to  their  farms,  and  at  this  time 
taxed  them  lightly  as  compared  with  Carthage. 

So  now  you  can  see,  I  hope,  in  your  minds  as  well  as 
on  the  map,  the  position  of  two  rich  and  powerful  cities, 
—  Rome  in  the  center  of  Italy,  and  Carthage  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  south,  on  the  southern  coast  of  the 
Mediterranean  Sea.  Each  is  looking  with  jealous  eye 
toward  the  other.  At  the  least  trifle  they  will  jump  at 
each  other's  throats  like  two  mad  dogs. 

But  I   mentioned   Sicily  a  while  ago,  and  said  you 


178  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

should  hear  more  of  it.  Look  again  at  the  map  and 
notice  the  three-cornered  island  at  the  toe  of  the  boot. 
This  island  is  Sicily.  As  I  have  said  before,  the  boot  is 
drawn  back  as  if  to  kick,  and  you  shall  learn  before  long 
that  the  country  of  Rome  really  did  treat  Sicily  very 
roughly.  Look  at  the  great  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  you 
will  see  that  this  island  is  almost  in  the  middle  of  it. 
It  looks  as  if  Sicily  is  between  two  large  lakes,  —  the 
eastern  and  western  halves  of  the  Mediterranean. 
What  a  fine  stopping  place  this  must  have  been  for  the 
ships  in  their  long  journeys  from  Greece,  Phoenicia  or 
Egypt,  to  Rome,  Spain  and  the  islands  of  the  western 
Mediterranean  and  far  away  England !  It  makes  us 
think  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  in  the  middle  of  the  Pa- 
cific, where  our  own  ships  stop  for  coal,  fresh  water 
and  new  supplies  on  their  long  trips  to  Japan,  China, 
India  and  the  Philippine  Islands.  Since  Sicily  had 
been  the  stopping  place  of  the  Mediterranean  ships  for 
a  thousand  years,  it  is  easy  to  see  why  many  different 
peoples  would  want  it  and  be  willing  to  fight  for  it. 
You  remember  of  learning  last  year  how  the  Greeks 
flocked  to  this  island  from  their  native  country  and 
built  great  cities  upon  it. 

But  look  again  at  the  map,  and  you  will  see  that  this 
island  is  not  so  very  much  farther  from  the  city  of  Rome 
than  it  is  from  Carthage.  The  northeastern  corner 
almost  touches  the  southern  part  of  Italy.  In  fact  it  is 
only  two  miles  from  it.  The  western  corner  of  the 
island  is  not  much  more  than  a  hundred  miles  from 
Carthage.  A  trireme  could  easily  run  across  between 
sunrise  and  sunset.  So  here  are  two  great  cities,  one 
mighty  on  land,  the  other  mighty  on  sea,  both  eagerly 


STRUGGLE   BETWEEN   ROME   AND   CARTHAGE     179 

eyeing  Sicily.  Can  you  see  the  two  hungry  dogs,  as  we 
said  awhile  ago,  ready  to  jump  for  the  bone?  But  is  the 
bone  worth  fighting  for  ?     Let  us  look  farther  and  see. 

Sicily  is  the  largest  island  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 
being  just  a  little  larger  than  New  Jersey.  But  how 
different  its  surface  is  from  New  Jersey !  No  land 
could  well  be  more  mountainous  than  Sicily.  In  it  are 
no  large,  flat  farms,  as  there  are  in  New  Jersey  or 
Kansas,  for  example.  Indeed  there  is  not  a  spot  in 
the  whole  island  that  is  out  of  sight  of  a  large  hill,  and 
in  most  places  lofty  mountains  are  in  sight.  Since  this 
island  is  so  small,  of  course  there  are  no  large  rivers, 
and  hence  we  shall  see  no  ships  on  them,  as  we  have 
seen  so  often  on  the  Nile  and  Tiber.  There  were,  how- 
ever, upon  the  island  many  small  creeks,  streams  and 
springs.  During  the  winter  rains  these  became  little 
torrents,  but  during  the  summer  they  became  almost  or 
completely  dry. 

If  we  were  to  imagine  ourselves  in  Sicily  during  the 
spring  or  summer,  we  should  see  everything  fresh  and 
green,  for  the  slopes  of  the  hills  and  the  little  valleys 
were  very  rich  and  fertile.  Forests  would  cover  the 
hills  and  mountains.  We  would  also  find  hundreds  of 
orchards  and  vineyards  on  the  hill  slopes.  And  I  must 
tell  you  that  such  an  abundance  of  grain  was  raised  on 
this  island,  and  so  much  did  Rome  depend  upon  it  for  its 
wheat,  that  it  came  to  be  called  "  the  granary  of  Rome." 
So  rich  was  the  ground  that  even  on  the  hilly  and  stony 
places  rich  patches  of  wheat  would  grow  between  the 
stones.  Indeed,  it  is  said  that  one  bushel  of  wheat 
sown  would  produce  three  hundred  bushels.  No 
country  in  the  world   raised   more   abundant  or  finer 


180  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

wheat  than  Sicily  did.  Hundreds  of  flocks  of  sheep, 
also,  and  herds  of  cattle  fed  on  the  mountain  slopes. 
On  the  southern  coast  was  raised  the  finest  breed  of 
horses.  It  was  here  that  Rome  got  horses  for  her 
cavalry. 

As  I  told  you,  the  rivers  were  small,  so  the  ships 
could  not  go  inland,  and  for  this  reason  the  trading  was 
done  at  the  seacoast.  And  here  it  was  that  the  large 
cities  grew  up. 

One  of  these  cities,  t  Syracuse,  on  the  southeastern 
corner  of  the  island,  was  very  large  and  rich ;  and 
Athens  itself  was  the  only  city  in  the  world  that  was 
more  beautiful. 

This  island,  with  its  numerous  streams,  its  beautiful 
valleys,  its  vineyards,  its  wheat  fields,  its  orchards  of 
olives  and  fruits,  its  fine  breed  of  horses,  its  herds  of 
sheep  and  goats,  and  its  wealthy  cities,  is  the  prize  for 
which  both  Rome  and  Carthage  are  struggling.  Do 
you  think  it  was  worth  the  struggle  ? 

In  early  time  Carthage  reached  her  arm  across  the 
Mediterranean  and  obtained  the  western  half  of  the 
island  for  herself.  Rome,  now  jealous  of  the  rising 
Carthaginian  power,  desired  to  own  the  whole  island. 
An  excuse  for  fighting  was  easily  found  by  the  Romans, 
and  the  first  great  struggle  between  the  two  strongest 
cities  of  the  world  at  that  time  began  two  hundred  and 
sixty-four  years  before  Christ,  and  lasted  twenty-three 
years. 

City  after  city  fell  in  Sicily,  until  Rome  had  con- 
quered the  whole  island  except  a  few  strong  forts  on 
the  coast.  These  were  held  by  the  great  Carthaginian, 
Ha-mil'car.     No  Roman  general  was  a  match  for  him. 


STRUGGLE    BETWEEN   ROME    AND   CARTHAGE     181 

It  was  now  plain  to  Rome  that  if  Carthage  was  to  be 
conquered,  her  great  power  on  the  sea  must  be  de- 
stroyed. Rome  then  rapidly  built  fleets.  Soon  she 
became  powerful  on  the  sea  and  beat  the  Carthaginians 
wherever  she  met  them.  Peace  was  declared  after 
twenty-three  years  of  fighting,  and  the  great  general 
Hamilcar,  who  had  never  lost  a  battle  on  land,  and 
had  stubbornly  held  his  forts  for  seven  years,  was  com- 
pelled to  leave  Sicily  because  of  the  failure  of  the 
Carthaginian  ships  at  sea.  Not  only  was  Carthage 
forced  to  give  up  Sicily,  with  all  its  riches,  and  the 
islands  about  it,  but  she  was  also  compelled  by  Rome 
to  pay  the  large  sum  of  $4,000,000,  which,  because 
money  was  so  scarce  then,  would  be  equal  in  value  to 
perhaps  ten  times  that  much  now. 

Shortly  afterward,  while  Carthage  was  having  gjreat 
trouble  with  her  slaves,  Rome  seized  both  Corsica  and 
Sardinia.  When  Carthage  then  complained,  Rome 
compelled  her  to  pay  another  large  sum  of  money, 
a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars. 

All  this  was  hard  for  Carthage  to  bear.  Some  of  her 
citizens,  especially  the  nobles,  were  willing,  however, 
to  bear  it,  for  they  wanted  to  trade  and  did  not  wish  to 
fight.  But  there  was  one  man  who  tried  to  stir  his 
people  to  fight  for  their  country.  This  was  the  brave 
Hamilcar.     And  now  let  us  look  at  his  plans. 

Hamilcar  was  elected  commander  of  Carthage's  army 
and  resolved  to  conquer  Spain.  This  was  the  first  step 
in  his  plan  to  humble  Rome  and  regain  Sicily.  For 
fear  he  should  not  live  to  strike  Rome  the  final  blow,  he 
required  his  little  son,  Hannibal,  who  was  then  about 
nine  years  old,  to  swear  at  the  altar  of  his  god,  Baal, 


1 82  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

to  humble  Rome  and  remain  her  enemy  forever.  You 
shall  see  presently  how  courageously  he  did  this. 
Hamilcar  then  took  Hannibal  to  Spain  with  him. 
Here  he  remained  in  camp  for  nine  years  and  became 
used  to  the  soldier's  life.  At  eighteen  he  was  sent 
back  to  Carthage  to  receive  his  education.  There  he 
became  a  good  athlete,  obtained  a  good  knowledge  of 
Greek,  and  came  to  know  much  about  the  history  of 
the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  the  great  peoples  who 
had  lived  before  them.  He  then  returned  to  Spain 
and  gained  further  schooling  in  the  rough  camp  of 
war.  When  Hannibal  was  twenty-nine  Hamilcar  died, 
and  the  army  declared  that  Hannibal  should  be  their 
leader. 

Thus  you  see  Hannibal  was  not  made  general  merely 
because  he  was  the  son  of  Hamilcar.  He  was,  in  fact, 
much  like  his  father  in  many  ways,  but  he  was  also 
the  best  rider  and  the  best  marcher  in  the  whole 
Carthaginian  army.  He  was  willing  to  bear  the  greatest 
hardships  in  order  to  fulfill  the  sacred  promise  he  had 
made  his  father  when  a  boy,  —  that  he  would  give  his 
life  to  humbling  Rome.  Oftentimes  on  the  march  he 
slept  on  the  bare  ground  with  only  a  cloak  for  cover. 
He  was  ever  ready  to  bear  the  same  trials  and  hard- 
ships that  his  men  did.  For  this  reason  his  soldiers 
loved  him,  and  as  he  never  complained  of  the  hard 
things  that  came,  they  too  were  ashamed  to  complain. 

Soon  Hannibal  with  his  brave  army  had  captured 
almost  all  Spain,  —  or  as  far  north  as  the  Ebro  River,  — 
and  by  the  products  of  the  rich  silver  mines  of  Spain 
Carthage  had  gained  much  wealth.  So  long  as  the 
war   did  not  cost  her  as   much  money  as  they  were 


STRUGGLE    BETWEEN   ROME  AND   CARTHAGE     183 

getting  from  the  mines,  the  nobles  of  Carthage  did 
not  complain.  They  were  glad  to  have  the  land  con- 
quered from  the  wild  Spaniards,  if  only  some  one 
except  the  rich  merchants  and  planters  of  Carthage 
would  do  the  fighting.  But  by  all  this  fighting  in  Spain 
an  army  is  being  trained  for  a  greater  task;  for  Hanni- 
bal, though  young,  was  very  wise.  He  took  this  as 
the  best  means  to  train  an  army  with  which  to  strike 
Rome  a  deathblow.  He  began  by  attacking  Sagun- 
tum,  a  city  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Spain.  This  city 
was  a  friend  of  Rome's,  and  he  knew  that  to  seize  it 
would  make  Rome  angry  and  lead  her  to  declare  war. 
Carthage  did  not  much  like  this  new  action  of  Han- 
nibal against  Rome.  But  when  Saguntum  fell,  after 
a  siege  of  eight  months,  and  the  rich  spoils  of  gold, 
silver  and  fine  weapons  went  flowing  home  to  Carthage, 
the  people  rejoiced  and  declared  war  against  Rome. 
If  the  war  would  continue  to  enrich  her  greedy 
merchants,  Carthage  would  be  pleased.  When  war 
was  declared  Hannibal  began  to  make  his  plans;  and 
when  I  tell  you  of  the  great  plan  he  made  you  will 
see  something  as  to  whether  he  was  a  brave  man  and 
a  great  general  or  not.  He  decided  to  make  his  way 
by  land  through  fierce  barbaric  tribes  from  Spain  to 
Italy,  gaining  if  he  could  the  help  of  the  Gauls,  a 
people  living  far  north  of  Rome,  up  in  the  passes  and 
around  the  feet  of  the  Alps.  His  further  plan  was 
to  stir  up  all  those  nations  of  Italy  who  had  fought 
against  Rome  so  long  ago,  such  as  the  Gauls,  Sam- 
nites  and  the  Greeks,  and  get  them  to  join  his  army 
against  Rome.  He  could  not  go  in  ships,  for  Car- 
thage, as  you  remember,   had  lost  her  power  on  the 


1 84  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

sea  in  her  first  struggle  with  Rome.  So  he  now 
started  out  on  his  long  journey,  a  distance  of  over 
eleven  hundred  miles,  farther  than  from  Chicago  to 
New  York,  before  he  could  reach  northern  Italy  and 
get  help  from  the  Gauls. 

Let  us  take  the  map  and  follow  Hannibal  and  see  the 
difficulties  he  met  and  how  he  overcame  them.  Leav- 
ing his  brother,  Hasdrubal,  with  an  army  to  watch 
Spain,  he  started  out  in  the  spring  of  218  B.C.,  with  an 
army  of  ninety  thousand  foot-soldiers,  twelve  thousand 
cavalry  and  thirty-seven  elephants.  At  first  he  marched 
northward  and  crossed  the  Pyrenees  Mountains.  In 
doing  so  he  had  to  fight  step  by  step  the  wild  Spaniards 
who  occupied  the  mountain  passes,  and  so  lost  many 
men.  Some  of  his  troops  were  left  to  hold  the  con- 
quered lands,  while  others  were  sent  home  because  they 
were  not  brave  enough  for  Hannibal.  This  left  Hanni- 
bal fifty  thousand  foot-soldiers,  nine  thousand  cavalry, 
and  thirty-seven  elephants,  or  two-thirds  as  many  men 
as  he  started  out  with. 

Now  let  us  imagine  how  this  army  looked.  There 
were  but  few  Carthaginians  in  it,  for  as  I  told  you,  Car- 
thage hired  most  of  her  troops  of  other  nations.  She 
gathered  them  in  as  she  did  her  commerce,  from  all 
parts  of  the  earth.  There  were  thousands  of  Celts,  or 
Gauls,  from  the  mountains  of  Spain,  who  were,  there- 
fore, quite  used  to  fighting.  These  wore  a  white  woolen 
tunic,  with  red  edges,  and  carried  a  shield  of  bull's  hide, 
a  spear  and  a  cut-and-thrust  sword.  There  were  other 
Gauls,  in  kilts,  or  naked  to  the  thigh,  with  their  huge 
shields,  a  spear  and  a  long,  broad  sword,  which  they 
wielded  very  skillfully.     There  were  also  two  thousand 


STRUGGLE    BETWEEN   ROME   AND   CARTHAGE      185 

slingers  and  some  archers  from  the  Balearic  Islands  just 
east  of  Spain.  Nowhere  else  in  the  world  were  there 
slingers  like  these.  They  carried  two  slings,  one  for 
throwing  long  distances  and  one  for  short.  They  threw 
both  stones  and  metal  bullets. 

There  were  also  troops  from  Africa.  Being  used  to 
the  warm  country,  they  wore  but  little  clothing,  covering 
their  shoulders  with  a  cloak,  or  the  skin  of  a  goat, 
leopard  or  lion,  while  their  legs  were  bare.  Then, 
there  were  the  Numidian  cavalry  of  Africa,  who  were 
the  best  horsemen  in  the  world.  In  these  lay  Hanni- 
bal's greatest  strength.  The  Numidian  tribes  of  the 
desert  went  almost  without  clothing,  being  covered 
sometimes  with  a  leopard  or  tiger  skin,  and  sometimes 
with  a  mere  girdle  of  skin  around  the  waist.  They  used 
no  saddle  or  bridle  in  riding,  but  guided  their  small  wiry 
horses  by  their  voice  or  with  a  slender  rod,  or  stick. 
These  horsemen,  always  plucky  and  tireless,  were  very 
skillful  in  the  use  of  the  spear. 

The  elephants  were  used  to  charge  upon  the  enemy, 
whom  they  trampled  down.  Towers  were  also  fastened 
to  their  backs,  and  these  were  filled  with  archers  and 
slingers. 

The  army  carried  along  with  it  but  little  baggage,  for 
Hannibal  had  so  far  to  go  and  wished  to  go  so  quickly 
that  he  took  along  but  little  heavy  material.  The 
baggage-train  consisted  of  horses  and  mules.  Carts 
were  not  employed  till  after  they  reached  Italy. 

Although  Hannibal's  army  was  made  up  of  people  of 
different  nations  and  various  languages,  yet  it  was  per- 
haps the  best-trained  army  in  the  world ;  for  since  the 
first  day  that  Hannibal  had  taken  command,  his  keen 


1 86  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

eye  and  wise  judgment  had  been  selecting  officers  and 
men  who  would  laugh  at  the  hardships  of  war  and 
stand  like  a  wall  before  the  Roman  sword. 

Now  let  us  return  to  the  march.  Hannibal  had  no 
trouble  till  he  reached  the  Rhone,  a  swift  and  danger- 
ous river,  fed  by  Alpine  snows.  Here  were  two  great 
dangers :  first,  it  was  a  great  question  how  to  get  the 
army  and  elephants  across  the  river,  when  they  had  no 
boats ;  and  second,  a  large  army  of  Gauls  were  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river  and  threatened  to  destroy  his 
army  should  he  attempt  to  get  across.  Some  men 
would  have  given  up  under  such  difficulties,  but  Hanni- 
bal was  neither  worried  nor  discouraged.  He  bought 
all  the  boats  he  could  from  the  natives  and  made  large 
rafts  himself.  While  he  was  doing  this,  he  sent  Hanno, 
one  of  his  best  generals,  with  some  troops,  quietly  up 
the  river  to  a  shallow  place,  where  they  crossed  without 
difficulty.  When  Hannibal  attempted  to  cross,  the 
Gauls  faced  him  in  full  force,  but  just  then  Hanno 
attacked  them  in  the  rear.  So  surprised  were  the  Gauls 
that  they  were  completely  routed,  and  Hannibal  with 
his  army  crossed  in  safety.  The  elephants  became  very 
much  frightened  at  the  floating  earth-covered  rafts  on 
which  they  were  led,  and  some  of  them  jumped  off  into 
the  water,  drowning  their  drivers.  The  water  was  not 
so  deep  but  that  the  elephants  could  walk  on  the  bottom, 
with  their  trunks  thrust  up  out  of  the  water  to  breathe. 
Thus  not  an  elephant  was  lost. 

For  sixteen  days  Hannibal  now  marched  through  a 
rich  country  of  half-friendly  Gauls,  till  he  came  to  the 
foot  of  the  Alps.  Here  he  did  deeds  so  famous  that 
they  will  not  be  forgotten  so  long  as  Hannibal  himself 


STRUGGLE   BETWEEN   ROME  AND   CARTHAGE     187 

is  remembered.  There  is  no  one  thing,  perhaps,  that 
has  made  Hannibal  famous  so  much  as  his  pluck  and 
bravery  in  crossing  the  Alps,  and  I  must  now  tell  you 
just  a  little  about  it. 

One  time,  as  the  soldiers  and  the  baggage-train  were 
struggling  upward  along  a  narrow  mountain-path,  the 
natives,  from  the  heights  above,  hurled  javelins,  and 
rolled  huge  blocks  of  stone  upon  them.  It  looked  for  a 
time  as  if  the  whole  army  would  be  dashed  into  the 
gorges  below.  But  Hannibal  restored  order,  took  a 
position  of  great  danger,  and  when  night  came  on  sent 
a  body  of  troops  above  the  natives,  who  came  upon  them 
by  surprise.  By  desperate  fighting  and  with  great  loss 
of  beasts  and  baggage  the  gorge  was  cleared,  and  the 
worn  and  weakened  army  moved  on. 

After  nine  days  of  cold,  hunger  and  climbing,  the 
army  reached  the  small  plain  at  the  summit  of  the  Alps, 
where  the  discouraged  troops  were  given  two  days'  rest. 
Hannibal  cheered  them  by  pointing  their  gaze  in  imag- 
ination to  the  walls  of  Rome  and  to  the  comforts  and 
spoils  soon  to  be  theirs  in  the  sunny  plains  of  Italy. 
After  the  short  rest,  amid  the  storms  of  snow,  they  be- 
gan to  descend  the  southern  slope.  This  being  steeper 
and  covered  with  fresh  snows,-  made  it  more  dangerous 
for  both  beasts  and  men  than  the  ascent  of  the  northern 
slope  had  been.  Men  and  horses  often  lost  their  footing 
and  plunged  to  their  death  in  the  gorges  below.  Once 
they  had  to  stop  for  three  days  to  cut  a  road  through 
solid  rock  large  enough  for  the  elephants  to  pass 
along.  The  great  beasts  suffered  severely  from 
hunger  and  cold,  for  surrounded  by  the  great  snow- 
fields  and   ice    it   was    very    different  from   their  nat- 


1 88  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

ural  surroundings  on  the  sunny  plains  of  northern 
Africa. 

After  nine  days  they  reached  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tains, ragged,  weak  and  worn.  Over  half  of  the  army, 
that  is,  thirty-three  thousand  men,  had  been  lost.  It  now 
numbered  but  twenty-six  thousand.  It  was  this  little 
handful  of  worn-out  men  and  a  few  half-starved  beasts 
that  were  to  be  thrown  against  the  gigantic  power  of 
Rome,  with  millions  of  men  for  the  army  and  the  largest 
cavalry  then  in  the  world.  But  Hannibal  was  at  their 
head. 

Hannibal's  army  was  now  among  its  friends,  the 
Gauls,  who  dwelt  in  the  sunny  valley  of  the  Po,  south 
of  the  Alps,  and  it  halted  there  for  food.  While  it 
rests  for  a  few  weeks  and  the  starving  beasts  are  fed 
till  they  are  strong  again,  let  us  look  at  the  Roman 
army  Hannibal  has  to  meet.  Its  real  strength  lay  not 
in  its  splendid  cavalry,  but  in  the  common  foot-soldier, 
who  fought  for  his  home,  his  little  farm,  his  gods  and 
his  nation.  Any  Roman  citizen  from  his  seventeenth 
to  his  forty-sixth  year  might  be  called  upon  to  serve 
twenty  campaigns  in  the  infantry  and  ten  in  the  cavalry. 

The  Roman  soldier,  as  he  marched  behind  the  flag 
with  the  "  eagle  of  Jove  "  perched  on  top  of  the  staff, 
looked  quite  different  from  our  soldier-boy  in  blue. 
Besides  his  tunic  (a  woolen  shirt  coming  to  the  knees, 
bound  round  the  waist  by  a  girdle),  he  had  his  imple- 
ments of  warfare,  consisting  first  of  his  armor  of  de- 
fense, and  second  of  offensive  armor  and  weapons. 
The  helmet,  shield,  breastplate  and  greave  formed 
his  armor  of  defense.  The  helmet,  shaped  like  a 
cap,   served    as   a   protection   for   the    head.      It  was 


STRUGGLE  BETWEEN  ROME  AND  CARTHAGE  189 

made  of  bronze  and  had  a  plume  of  three  black  or 
scarlet  feathers  in  it  to  make  the  soldier  look  grander 
and  taller  as  he  went  on  the  march  or  engaged  in  the 
battle.  The  shield  was  about  four  feet  long  by  two  and  a 
half  feet  broad,  and  was  slightly  curved,  so  that  it  would 
fit  snug  about  the  body  and  not  present  a  flat  surface, 
easily  pierced  by  the  enemy's  spear.  This  shield  was 
carried  on  the  left  arm.  It  was  made  of  two  boards  of 
the  size  of  the  shield,  which  were  glued  together.  The 
outer  surface  was  covered,  first  with  a  coarse  canvas, 
and  then  with  a  calf's  hide.  An  iron  rim  was  put  on 
the  upper  edge  so  that  the  shield  could  not  easily  be 
split  or  injured  by  the  downward  stroke  of  a  sword  in 
the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The  under  edges  were  also 
protected  by  an  iron  rim  so  that  it  might  not  be 
injured  when  resting  on  the  ground.  This  shield  was 
not  found  strong  enough  at  all  times  to  resist  the  flying 
spears  and  hurled  stones  of  the  slingers  in  the  hands  of 
the  enemy,  so  later  the  outward  surface  was  covered 
with  iron. 

The  wealthy  soldiers  wore  an  armor  about  their 
breasts.  This  was  much  like  a  vest  and  was  made  of 
strips  of  iron  running  up  and  down,  which  were  fastened 
together  crosswise  by  strong  strips  of  leather.  This 
armor  protected  the  upper  part  of  the  body  from  the 
swords  of  the  enemy.  In  addition  to  this,  most  of  the 
soldiers  wore  a  brass  plate,  nine  inches  square,  as  a  pro- 
tection to  the  breast.  In  a  combat  with  the  sword  the 
Roman  soldier  advanced  his  right  foot.  As  a  protec- 
tion to  his  leg  he  wore  a  legging,  called  a  greave. 
This  was  shaped  like  the  half  of  a  boot-leg  split  up  and 
down,  and  was  made  of  metal  to  fit  the  front  and  sides 


190  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

of  the  leg.  It  was  lined  with  leather  or  cloth,  so  as  not 
to  rub  the  soldier's  leg.  It  extended  from  the  ankle 
to  just  above  the  knee.  Sometimes  the  soldier  wore 
greaves  on  both  legs,  for  he  advanced  his  left  foot  when 
he  hurled  the  spear. 

His  weapons  of  attack  consisted  of  the  sword  and  two 
spears.  The  sword  was  worn  on  the  right  side.  It  had 
a  strong  straight  blade  and  was  used  for  both  cutting 
and  thrusting.  Besides  the  sword  he  carried  two  spears, 
which  were  his  chief  weapons  in  battle.  They  were 
almost  seven  feet  long,  including  the  handle,  and  about 
three  inches  thick.  The  shaft  was  four  feet  and  a  half 
long,  and  a  barbed  iron  head,  of  the  same  length,  ex- 
tended halfway  down  the  shaft  to  make  it  firm. 

In  addition  to  these  implements  the  soldier,  when  in 
marching  order,  usually  carried  enough  food  to  last  two 
weeks,  three  or  four  oak  stakes  to  help  form  the  fence 
about  the  camp,  and  several  tools,  such  as  hammers  and 
augers.  Altogether  he  carried  a  burden  of  from  sixty 
to  eighty  pounds,  and  was  trained  to  march  twenty  miles 
a  day.  He  was  taught  to  swim  rivers,  to  climb  moun- 
tains, to  penetrate  forests,  to  wade  swamps,  and  to  meet 
and  overcome  every  kind  of  danger  that  a  life  of  war 
could  lead  him  into. 

The  Romans,  always  on  the  watch  when  they  stopped 
for  the  night,  built  a  strongly  fortified  camp  to  guard 
against  surprises.  Around  the  square  camp  was  dug  a 
ditch  fifteen  feet  deep.  The  dirt  was  thrown  on  the  in- 
side and  formed  a  wall  ten  feet  high.  Then  the  oak 
stakes  carried  by  the  soldiers  were  driven  firmly  into  the 
dirt  wall.  These  stakes  had  sharp  points  at  the  top,  so 
as  to  make  them  hard  to  climb  over.     The  camp  was 


STRUGGLE   BETWEEN   ROiWE   AND   CARTHAGE     191 

also  strongly  guarded  by  sentinels.  So  you  see  it  must 
have  been  almost  impossible  to  surprise  the  Roman 
soldier  at  night. 

The  great  weakness  of  the  Roman  army  was  in  the 
fact  that  it  constantly  changed  its  generals.  The  con- 
suls were  the  generals,  and  these,  as  you  know,  were 
elected  every  year.  Rome  at  this  time  had  over  seven 
hundred  thousand  soldiers  ready  at  a  moment's  call  to 
fight  for  her ;  and  so  closely  had  Rome  bound  her  peo- 
ple to  her,  and  so  proud  were  they  to  be  called  Roman 
citizens,  that  every  soldier's  breast  and  heart  were  as 
good  a  defense  for  Rome  as  the  armor  which  he  wore. 

But  now  let  us  go  back  to  the  army  at  the  foot  of 
the  Alps.  The  Roman  army,  even  if  large  and  well- 
armed,  was  no  match  for  Hannibal.  He  utterly  defeated 
them  in  the  very  first  battle  in  the  Po  valley.  Many 
Gauls  then  joined  his  army,  and  he  marched  southward 
toward  the  Arno  River,  which  had  recently  overflowed 
from  the  melting  of  the  mountain  snows,  forming  great 
marshes  which  were  thought  to  make  the  roadways 
impassable.  But  Hannibal  had  never  met  a  road  he 
could  not  pass,  and  after  putting  his  most  trusty  troops 
in  front,  he  gave  the  order  to  move.  On  they  went 
for  four  days  and  three  nights,  sometimes  in  water 
to  the  armpits,  and  sleeping  on  baggage  and  dead  ani- 
mals. All  of  the  elephants,  as  you  remember,  had  been 
brought  safely  across  the  mountains,  but  now  all  except 
one  had  died  from  the  effects  of  the  mountain  exposure 
or  in  battle.  Hannibal  himself,  a  part  of  the  time  ill, 
sometimes  joking  with  his  soldiers,  and  never  dis- 
couraged, made  his  way  through  the  sea  of  marshes  on 
the  back  of  this  one  faithful  animal.     The  exposure  was 


192  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

so  severe  that  the  great  general  lost  an  eye  from  an 
inflammation  which  he  was  unable  to  attend  to. 

Nowise  discouraged  by  these  hardships,  on  he  went 
southward  toward  Rome,  destroying  the  farms  and  do- 
ing all  he  could  to  persuade  Rome's  allies  to  desert 
Rome  and  join  him. 

One  morning,  during  a  heavy  fog,  he  completely  de- 
feated and  almost  destroyed  the  Roman  army  in  a 
second  great  battle,  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Trasimenus, 
eighty  miles  northwest  of  Rome.  After  this  defeat 
Hannibal  hoped  Rome's  friends  would  desert  her.  But 
seeing  Rome  defeated  did  not  make  her  subjects  love 
the  old  city  on  the  Tiber  any  the  less,  for  very  few 
of  them  showed  any  desire  to  rise  in  favor  of  Hannibal. 
Notwithstanding  he  was  now  very  near  Rome,  he  dared 
not  besiege  it  without  the  help  of  the  people  in  the  coun- 
try near  by  to  bring  him  supplies ;  so  he  hastened  south- 
ward, hoping  to  gain  the  support  of  the  Samnites,  whom, 
you  remember,  Rome  fought  with  and  conquered  about 
a  hundred  years  before  this  time.  He  thought,  too, 
surely  the  Greek  cities  in  southern  Italy  would  leave 
Rome  and  help  him. 

Rome  now  became  very  much  alarmed,  and  chose  Fa- 
bius  as  dictator.  Fabius  tried  a  new  plan,  which  was  to 
hang  continually  at  Hannibal's  heels  and  torment  him 
as  much  as  possible,  but  avoid  an  open  battle.  Thus  he 
expected  finally  to  wear  out  Hannibal.  For  more  than 
a  year  this  method  was  kept  up,  while  Hannibal  marched 
about  almost  as  he  pleased  from  one  fine  valley  to 
another,  getting  plenty  of  food  for  his  army  and  trying 
to  make  friends  with  Rome's  allies.  Many  of  the 
Roman  farms  were  now  falling  into  a  desolate  condition 


STRUGGLE   BETWEEN  ROME  AND   CARTHAGE     193 

because  the  armies  had  so  badly  overrun  them.  For 
this  reason  Rome  to  a  great  extent  had  to  depend  on 
Sicily  and  Egypt  for  her  grain. 

Once  Fabius  thought  he  had  Hannibal  penned  up  in 
a  small  valley  in  southern  Italy  where  he  could  not  get 
out.  But  Hannibal  ordered  some  soldiers  to  climb  the 
hill  slopes  which  hemmed  them  in  and  drive  before  them 
a  number  of  oxen  with  lighted  fagots  on  their  horns. 
The  Romans,  thinking  they  saw  the  whole  Carthaginian 
army  marching  off  during  the  night  by  torchlight,  left 
the  road  which  they  were  guarding  and  made  for  the 
steep  hill.  "  Hannibal  then  quietly  marched  out  of  his 
pen  by  the  unguarded  road. 

Rome  became  impatient  of  the  plan  of  Fabius,  and 
finally  ^Emilius  Paulus,  a  more  energetic  man,  was 
elected  consul.  He  enlisted  a  large  army,  ninety  thou- 
sand or  more,  and  marched  at  once  to  Cannae,  in  south- 
eastern Italy,  where  Hannibal  was  encamped,  with  the 
purpose  of  defeating  him  at  once.  How  little  they 
knew,  even  yet,  the  strength  and  power  of  the  great 
general ! 

Hannibal  met  ^milius  on  a  plain  where  there  was 
plenty  of  room  to  use  his  cavalry.  He  formed  his  men 
in  a  line  the  shape  of  the  new  moon,  with  the  cavalry  at 
each  end.  When  ^milius  dashed  at  him  with  76,000 
men,  Hannibal  opened  a  space  for  him  in  the  center, 
then  closed  on  both  sides  with  his  terrible  cavalry,  slew 
^milius,  most  of  his  staff,  many  knights  and  the  whole 
army  except  six  thousand  men.  Hannibal  is  said  to 
have  gathered  a  bushel  of  gold  rings  from  the  dead 
nobles  and  sent  them  to  Carthage. 

When  Rome  heard  of  this  great  defeat,  her  people 


194  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

were  stricken  with  the  greatest  fear  and  proposed  to 
leave  the  city  at  once.  It  was  then  that  the  senate 
saved  the  city.  Ever  wise  and  brave,  even  in  the  great- 
est danger,  it  ordered  that  mourning  and  weeping  for 
the  dead  should  cease  in  the  city,  the  city  gates  be 
closed,  the  country  crops  near  Rome  be  destroyed,  so  that 
Hannibal's  men  if  they  came  might  be  starved  out,  the 
bridges  leading  into  the  city  be  broken  down,  and  new 
levies  of  soldiers  made.  If  you  would  understand  this 
war,  you  must  know  that  it  is  the  senate,  sitting  as 
calmly  as  a  council  of  kings  in  the  Capitol  at  Rome, 
which  is  guiding  every  movement  in  this  life-and- 
death  struggle.  It  was  at  this  time  one  of  the  wisest, 
and  most  powerful  bodies  of  men  that  ever  ruled  any 
nation,  being  composed  of  three  hundred  trained 
men  who  had  had  the  experience  of  holding  the 
greatest  offices  of  Rome  before  they  became  senators. 
After  being  elected,  they  served  in  the  senate  for  life. 
They  were  compelled  to  attend  all  the  meetings  of  the 
senate  and  were  not  allowed  to  engage  in  any  other 
business.  They  had  charge  of  religion,  the  treasury, 
appointed  the  dictator,  determined  what  nations  should 
be  their  friends,  ordered  the  raising  of  armies  and 
helped  in  making  the  laws. 

Hannibal  won  no  more  great  victories  in  Italy  after 
Cannae,  216  B.C.,  though  he  was  victor  in  many  small 
conflicts.  Fabius  was  again  made  general  of  the  army, 
and  he  tried  his  old  plan.  And  thus  the  years  went  on, 
Hannibal's  army  gradually  getting  smaller  through 
death  and  because  he  received  very  little  help  from 
home ;  while  Rome,  ere  long,  regained  Capua,  the  rich 
city  in  the  plains  of    Campania,    which  had  deserted 


STRUGGLE  BETWEEN  ROME  AND  CARTHAGE  195 

her  Mistress  on  the  Seven  Hills  and  gone  over  to 
Hannibal  after  the  battle  of  Cannae. 

All  this  time  most  of  Rome's  allies,  scattered 
throughout  the  peninsula,  clung  to  her  like  children  to 
their  father  in  time  of  danger.  The  Roman  traders 
and  farmers  loved  their  country  so  dearly  that  they 
would  not  give  up  to  a  foreign  foe,  even  if  they  lost 
their  farms,  their  stores  and  their  lives.  Thus  you  see 
that  when  Rome  built  roads  and  made  her  conquered 
people  obey  her  and  gave  them  just  laws  and  peace  so 
that  they  could  easily  trade  and  become  wealthy,  she 
did  not  do  it  in  vain. 

In  this  way  Rome  taught  the  ancient  people,  and  all 
the  world  after  her,  a  great  lesson.  When  once  she  had 
conquered  a  people,  she  attached  them  to  herself  by 
roads  and  laws,  and  forts  and  colonies,  and  held  them 
as  a  part  of  herself  in  a  way  that  no  other  nation  had 
ever  done  before. 

At  length,  two  hundred  and  seven  years  before  Christ, 
Hasdrubal,  the  brother  of  Hannibal,  who  was  at  the 
head  of  an  army  in  Spain,  resolved  to  go  to  the  assist- 
ance of  his  brother.  He  rapidly  crossed  the  Alps,  as 
his  brother  had  done,  making  use  of  the  same  rock 
cuttings  and  mountain  roads  which  his  brother  had 
made  eleven  years  before.  Then  he  hastily  gathered 
an  army  in  the  north  of  Italy  and  moved  southward  to 
meet  his  brother.  Had  his  plan  been  successful,  it 
might  have  been  the  ruin  of  Rome  ;  but  some  of  Hasdru- 
bal's  messengers,  who  carried  letters  telling  Hannibal  to 
meet  Hasdrubal  north  of  Rome,  were  captured  by  Ro- 
man troops.  The  Romans,  seeing  their  great  danger, 
raised  an  army  in  haste,  and  met  Hasdrubal  and  his 


196  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

army  on  the  Metaurus  River  before  they  could  join 
Hannibal.  The  Carthaginians  were  defeated  with 
great  slaughter.  Hasdrubal  bravely  fell  in  the  battle, 
fighting  to  the  last.  His  head  was  cruelly  sent  to  Han- 
nibal and  thrown  over  the  lines  into  his  camp.  When 
Hannibal  saw  it,  he  sadly  remarked,  "  I  recognize  in 
this  the  doom  of  Carthage." 

Although  Hannibal  had  now  lost  all  hope  of  con- 
quering Rome,  he  yet  for  four  years  remained  in  the 
mountains  of  southern  Italy,  holding  his  army  together 
as  it  slowly  grew  smaller.  But  Rome  now  chose  a  new 
general,  who  made  a  new  plan  to  capture  Hannibal. 
This  general  was  the  famous  Scipio,  and  his  plan  was 
to  cross  the  Mediterranean  and  attack  Carthage.  He 
now  raised  an  army  and  sailed  from  southern  Italy 
across  the  sea  to  attack  the  great  city. 

Hannibal  was  immediately  recalled  home  by  the 
Carthaginians  to  defend  his  country.  With  a  new  army 
he  met  the  troops  of  Scipio  on  the  plains  of  Zama, 
south  of  Carthage,  and  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  the 
great  Hannibal  suffered  defeat.  Twenty  thousand  of 
his  men  were  slain,  and  he  barely  escaped  with  his  own 
life. 

The  war  was  now  closed,  202  B.C.,  and  by  it  Rome 
had  gained  Spain  and  the  islands  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea.  She  also  made  Carthage  give  up  her 
war  elephants,  destroy  all  her  ships  of  war  except 
twenty,  and  promise  to  pay  to  Rome  $240,000  each 
year  for  fifty  years. 

Amid  all  these  troubles  Hannibal  did  not  give  up  to 
discouragement.  When  the  war  closed,  he  was  placed 
at  the  head  of  Carthage ;  and  so  wisely  did  he  rule  that 


STRUGGLE   BETWEEN   ROME  AND  CARTHAGE     197 

the  triremes  and  quinqueremes  were  soon  again  pouring 
the  riches  of  the  seas  into  her  lap  and  raising  before 
her  the  vision  of  being  mistress  of  the  seas. 

But  as  Carthage  rose  again  in  strength,  Rome's  jeal- 
ousy rose  also,  and  especially  her  jealousy  of  Hannibal. 
The  nobles  of  Carthage  and  Roman  spies  hatched  evil 
reports  against  him ;  after  seven  years  of  noble  effort  he 
was  forced  to  leave  his  city,  his  house  being  leveled  to 
the  earth  and  all  his  property  seized.  Hunted  almost 
like  a  beast  for  the  next  twelve  years,  he  fled  from  one 
country  to  another  to  escape  the  cruel  hand  of  his 
enemies.  How  the  Romans  would  have  liked  to  have 
him  walk  in  chains  in  one  of  their  great  triumphs! 
Finally,  in  183  B.C.,  when  he  was  perhaps  sixty-six  years 
old,  to  avoid  capture  and  so  great  a  disgrace,  and  being 
betrayed  by  a  king. of  Asia  Minor  to  whom  he  had  fled 
for  protection,  Hannibal  took  poison,  fighting,  as  he  had 
sworn,  to  the  last  hour  of  his  life  against  Rome  or 
Rome's  allies.  In  the  same  year  (183  b.c.)  died  his 
great  conqueror,  Scipio  Africanus,  also  an  exile  and 
full  of  bitterness  toward  the  country  which  he  had 
saved  when  it  tottered  under  the  heavy  blows  of 
Hannibal. 

But  Rome  was  still  afraid  new  Hannibals  might  be 
born,  and  in  146  B.C.  made  an  excuse  for  fighting 
Carthage  again,  and  in  order  to  destroy  her  trade, 
ordered  the  Carthaginians  to  remove  the  city  ten 
miles  inland.  How  this  must  have  stung  and  vexed 
these  brave  seamen,  who  had  grown  rich  on  the 
seas  for  six  hundred  years !  Of  course  they  refused, 
and  then  began  a  four  years'  siege  of  their  beautiful 
city. 


198  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

I  have  already  told  you  something  of  the  mighty 
walls  which  surrounded  Carthage,  and  of  the  great 
towers  for  protection  which  were  built  upon  them ;  and 
I  must  now  tell  you  something  of  the  implements  of 
war  which  Rome  attacked  them  with  in  her  stubborn 
siege.  The  battering-ram  was  principally  used  to 
destroy  the  walls.  It  was  made  of  the  trunk  of  a 
large  tree,  and  was  often  one  hundred  feet  long.  On 
the  end  of  it  was  fastened  a  large  piece  of  iron  or  bronze, 
shaped  like  a  ram's  head.  This  huge  log  was  swung  by 
ropes  or  chains  from  a  beam  above,  so  that  the  soldiers 
did  not  have  to  hold  it  up  while  they  swung  it  backward 
and  forward,  making  the  iron  head  go  crashing  against 
the  stone  wall.  The  beam  was  made  long,  so  that  it 
would  reach  across  the  ditch,  fifty  to  seventy-five  feet 
wide,  which  was  just  outside  the  wall.  A  roof  was 
built  above  the  battering-ram,  so  that  the  men,  often- 
times a  hundred  or  more,  who  were  running  it,  could  not 
be  hurt  by  the  weapons  of  the  enemy  on  the  walls. 

The  Romans  also  had  huge  machines  called  catapults, 
used  for  hurling  large  stones,  weighing  from  fifty  to 
three  hundred  pounds,  over  the  walls  into  the  city. 
These  they  used  instead  of  cannon.  Why  did  they  not 
use  cannon  and  cannon  balls  as  we  do  now  ? 

They  had  also  high  towers  built  on  wheels,  which 
were  rolled  up  to  the  walls.  The  enemy  in  the  city 
could  prevent  them  from  climbing  on  top  only  by  throw- 
ing stones  down  on  them,  or  hot  oil,  or  by  digging 
mines  under  the  towers,  so  they  would  fall  over,  or  by 
some  means  setting  fire  to  them,  or  by  building  their 
walls  still  higher  than  the  tower. 

Well,  as  I  told  you,  Rome  surrounded  Carthage  and 


STRUGGLE   BETWEEN   ROME  AND   CARTHAGE     199 

began  the  siege.  At  first  the  Carthaginians  were  in 
despair,  but  they  asked  the  Romans  to  give  them  thirty- 
days  of  peace  in  which  to  consider  whether  they  would 
surrender  or  not. 

In  these  thirty  days  the  whole  city  was  turned  into 
a  workshop.  Lead  was  torn  from  the  roofs  of  the 
houses  and  made  into  balls  for  the  slingers.  Iron  was 
stripped  from  the  walls  of  the  buildings  to  be  beaten 
into  swords ;  the  women  cut  off  their  hair  to  be  twisted 
into  ropes  for  the  catapults  and  for  strings  for  the  bows ; 
stones  were  piled  on  top  of  the  walls  to  be  thrown  down 
on  those  who  should  attempt  to  climb  them.  Oil  was 
brought  to  the  walls,  and  kettles  for  boiling  it.  When 
the  thirty  days  were  over,  and  Scipio  (the  grandson  of 
Hannibal's  conqueror)  came  to  demand  the  surrender 
of  the  city,  he  was  surprised  to  find  the  gates  closed  and 
everything  ready  for  the  siege. 

Again  and  again  did  Scipio  assault  the  city,  only  to 
be  driven  back.  The  rams  battered  against  the  walls, 
but  the  Carthaginians  hung  great  sacks  of  earth  down 
in  front  of  them  and  thus  broke  the  shock.  Those  who 
attempted  to  scale  the  walls  were  scalded  with  boiling 
oil  dashed  down  by  those  who  defended  from  the  towers 
above.  Mines  were  attempted  under  the  walls,  only  to 
be  stopped  by  countermines  dug  by  the  Carthaginians. 
So,  for  four  weary  years  full  of  suffering,  the  siege  went 
on,  the  Romans  pressing  closer  and  closer,  the  Cartha- 
ginians, defending  themselves  with  heroic  courage,  but 
every  day  coming  nearer  to  the  point  of  starvation. 
Disease,  death  and  famine  began  at  last  to  weaken  the 
strong  defense  of  the  great  city.  Finally  the  walls  were 
scaled,  the  Romans  entered  and  began  making  their  way 


200  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

toward  the  great  rock,  Byrsa,  of  which  I  have  already 
told  you. 

In  this  last  hour  of  despair  the  Carthaginians  hero- 
ically defended  every  foot  of  street,  every  house,  every 
temple.  For  seven  days  the  Romans  fought  from  house 
to  house,  from  story  to  story,  till  at  last  they  came  to 
the  towering  rock,  upon  which  was  seated  the  sacred 
temple,  defended  by  fifty  thousand  men.  Diseased  and 
starving,  these  soon  surrendered ;  many,  however,  pre- 
ferring death  to  submission  to  their  great  enemy,  took 
poison  or  flung  themselves  into  the  flames. 

Then  came  special  orders  from  Rome  to  burn  Car- 
thage, plow  up  its  site,  and  curse  the  ground  that  no 
city  should  ever  arise  upon  the  site  again. 

Thus  Carthage,  living  for  six  hundred  years,  and 
becoming  the  center  of  the  world  of  trade  and  wealth 
in  her  day,  as  London  is  in  ours,  was  crushed  to  death 
by  her  great  rival,  and  her  wealth  taken  up  by  Rome. 

No  people  were  ever  braver  than  some  of  her  people, 
and  no  general  in  all  the  world,  perhaps,  was  greater 
than  Hannibal. 

But  although  the  Carthaginians  were  so  brave  and 
rich,  and  Hannibal  so  great  a  warrior,  it  is  no  doubt 
better  that  Rome  succeeded  in  this  great  struggle  in- 
stead of  Carthage. 

Rome,  with  all  her  faults,  had  more  than  Carthage 
that  was  good  to  teach  to  the  world  of  her  time  and  all 
the  world  since. 

Rome  knew  how  to  teach  people  of  different  tribes 
and  customs  to  obey  one  ruler —  Rome  ;  Carthage  did 
not  know  how  to  build  and  rule  a  great  nation.  Rome 
was  coming,  at  this  time,  to  care  for  beautiful  things  ; 


STRUGGLE  BETWEEN  ROME  AND  CARTHAGE  201 

Carthage  cared  little  for  art  but  greatly  for  wealth. 
Carthage  still  kept  up  cruel  and  harsh  ways  of  wor- 
shiping their  gods ;  Rome  was  fast  losing  her  faith  in 
her  own  gods,  but  by  conquering  the  peoples  around  the 
Mediterranean  and  teaching  them  to  obey  one  govern- 
ment instead  of  many,  it  led  them  after  a  while  to  think 
of  obeying  and  worshiping  one  God  instead  of  many. 
Thus,  though  Rome  was  often  cruel  in  what  she  did, 
she  unconsciously  prepared  the  path  for  greater  things. 
How  all  this  came  about,  and  how  Rome  wove  her 
web  slowly  around  every  nation  touching  the  Mediterra- 
nean, and  went  on  for  hundreds  of  years  afterward  giv- 
ing the  world  great  models  of  government,  and  how  after 
a  time  the  gentle  spirit  of  Christ  silently  conquered  the 
medieval  and  modern  world  more  completely  than  Rome 
conquered  the  ancient,  we  shall  see  as  we  go  on  in  the 
upper  grades,  following  the  spread  of  Christianity  and 
watching  the  influence  of  Rome  spread  over  western 
Europe  and  in  the  French  and  Spanish  colonies,  even 
to  North  and  South  America. 

References 

Dodge  :  Hannibal ;  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  Boston. 

Plutarch  :  Lives.    Fabius  and  Flamininus. 

Harding :    The  City  of  the  Seven  Hills ;   Scott,  Foresman  &  Co., 

Chicago. 
Guerber:  Story  of  the  Romans;  American  Bk.  Co.,  Cincinnati. 
Morris  :  Historical  Tales  ;  Lippincott  Co.,  Philadelphia. 
Creighton  :  History  Primer  of  Rome  ;  American  Bk.  Co.,  Cincinnati. 
Smith  :  Rome  and  Carthage  ;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 
Ramsay  and  Lanciani :   Manual  of  Roman  Antiquities ;   Scribner's 

Sons,  N.Y. 
Study  the  biographies  of  Hannibal,  Scipio,  and  Fabius  Maximus. 


202  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

Guhl  and  Koner :  The  Life  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans ;  Scribner's 
Sons,  N.Y. 

Myers  and  Allen  :  Ancient  History  ;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 

How  and  Leigh :  History  of  Rome  to  the  Death  of  Caesar ;  Long- 
mans, Green  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

Mommsen  :  History  of  Rome  (abridged  edition)  ;  Scribner's 
Sons,  N.Y. 

Kemp :  Outlines  of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools  ;  Ginn 
&  Co.,  N.Y. 


HOW  ROME  CONQUERED  THE  WORLD,  BUT 
DESTROYED    HERSELF 

When  Carthage  was  conquered  and  destroyed,  Rome's 
struggle  for  life  was  over.  For  five  hundred  years  and 
more  she  had  been  meeting  and  conquering  enemies ; 
and  although  she  was  almost  always  successful,  there 
were  many  times  when  it  was  not  certain  whether 
Rome  would  conquer  her  enemies,  or  her  enemies 
Rome. 

In  this  period  of  five  hundred  years,  Rome  had  grown 
from  a  little  village  of  mud  huts  and  a  few  hundred 
people  to  a  great  city  of  fine  buildings  and  streets,  and 
perhaps  a  half  million  people.  She  had  grown  in  size 
from  a  little  plain  on  the  Tiber  no  larger  than  a  small 
township  in  one  of  our  counties  to  a  great  state  extending 
over  most  of  Italy,  all  of  Carthage,  and  all  of  the  islands 
of  Sicily,  Sardinia,  and  Corsica.  She  had  reached  her 
strong  arm  over  mountains,  plains,  rivers,  valleys  and 
seas,  and  conquered  hundreds  of  cities  with  wealth,  like 
herself,  and  in  the  mountains  scores  of  tribes  who  spent 
their  time  in  wandering  from  place  to  place  herding 
cattle  and  sheep. 

But  the  one  most  important  thing  which  Rome  had 
done  in  all  this  time  was  this,  —  she  had  taken  the 
snarling  tribes  and  quarreling  cities  of  the  entire  Penin- 
sula and  had  taught  them  the  lesson  of  strength  in  union 

203 


204  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

as  the  father  taught  his  sons :  —  after  binding  a  number 
of  sticks  together  firmly,  the  father  brought  the  bundle  to 
his  seven  sons,  and  offered  a  reward  to  the  one  who  could 
break  them.  They  all  tried  and  failed  except  the  last 
son.  When  it  came  his  turn  to  try,  he  unbound  the 
bundle,  took  the  sticks  singly,  and  easily  broke  them 
all.  When  the  other  sons  said  to  the  father  that  they, 
too,  could  have  broken  the  sticks  by  taking  them  singly, 
the  father  replied  :  "  My  sons,  I  have  taken  this  method 
of  teaching  you  the  important  lesson  that  in  union  there 
is  strength ;  if  you  stand  together  and  help  one  another 
in  life,  none  can  injure  you  or  take  from  you  your  posses- 
sions ;  if,  on  the  other  hand,  you  do  not  unite,  but  each 
struggles,  selfishly,  against  the  others,  you  will  not  only 
ruin  others,  but  lose  your  own  possessions  as  well." 
Of  all  the  nations  we  have  studied — Egypt,  Judea, 
Phoenicia  and  Greece  —  not  one  of  them  had  any  such 
power  to  bind  peoples  and  nations  together  and  teach 
them  to  obey  as  Rome  had.  And  it  was  because  Rome 
had  taught  these  many  people  to  obey  her,  and  stand  by 
her,  and  fight  for  her,  that  she  had  conquered  every 
enemy,  and  had  now,  about  150  b.c.  conquered  the 
greatest  enemy  she  ever  met,  —  Carthage. 

Rome  now  stood  like  a  young  Hercules  master  of  Italy, 
Sicily  and  Carthage,  all,  as  you  have  seen,  about  midway 
in  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  If  it  was  desired  to  conquer 
Spain  in  the  West  it  would  be  easy,  for  Spain  was  made 
up  of  many  tribes  who  had  never  been  bound  together  into 
one  strong  nation ;  if  it  was  desired  to  conquer  the  old 
countries  of  the  East,  —  Greece,  Asia  Minor,  Phoenicia, 
Judea  and  Egypt,  —  it  would  be  still  easier,  for  these 
countries  were  now  quarreling  among  themselves,  and, 


HOW  ROME   CONQUERED   THE   WORLD        205 

like  the  sticks,  when  separated  could  be  easily  broken  in 
pieces  one  by  one. 

Rome  had  grown  so  accustomed  to  conquering  peo- 
ple, that  when  she  had  destroyed  Carthage,  and  no 
longer  had  any  great  power  to  fear,  she  was  not 
satisfied.  Her  appetite  grew  sharper,  the  more  she 
ate ;  the  more  she  conquered,  the  more  she  wanted  to 
conquer.  So  for  the  next  fifty  years  after  Carthage  was 
destroyed  (from  146  to  about  100  B.C.),  Rome  took  many 
of  her  young  men  from  the  stores  and  the  plow  and 
sent  them  to  Greece  and  Asia  Minor  to  overcome  the 
dozen  or  more  snarling,  warring  states  which  had  grown 
up  there  since  Alexander  the  Great's  empire  broke  into 
pieces  about  two  hundred  years  before. 

We  must  now  see  how  Rome  did  this,  and  finally  see 
what  effect  it  had  upon  Rome  herself. 

The  first  armies  sent  into  the  East  were  under  very 
poor  generals  and  the  Romans  were  often  defeated. 
The  people  at  last  concluded  to  put  ^Emil'i-us  Pau'lus 
in  command.  ^Emilius  was  the  son  of  the  yEmilius 
Paulus  who  was  killed  at  Cannae  in  the  battle  against 
Hannibal.  He  was  a  poor  man,  who  would  not  make 
himself  rich,  as  many  of  the  other  generals  did,  by  dis- 
honesty. Now  ^Emilius  had  commanded  armies  in 
different  places  and  was  a  great  commander.  He  did 
not  thank  the  people  for  the  honor  of  making  him 
general,  but  said  he  supposed  they  thought  he  could 
command,  otherwise  they  would  not  have  put  him  in  the 
place,  and  that  now  they  should  not  meddle  with  his 
affairs  but  leave  him  to  do  as  he  pleased ;  and  he 
generally  did  do  as  he  pleased,  and  generally  succeeded 
well.      He   was   now   sent   against    King    Perseus   of 


206  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

Macedonia,  who  was  the  cause  of  much  of  the  trouble 
in  the  East.  At  Pyd'na,  in  Macedonia,  he  soon  defeated 
the  king's  army,  commanding  it  bareheaded  and  in  light 
armor,  took  Perseus  captive  and  brought  all  of  the 
king's  country  under  Roman  control.  He  captured 
very  great  treasure  here,  but  being  as  honest  as  an  old- 
time  Roman,  he  took  nothing  for  himself. 

^Emilius  sent  home  to  Rome  all  the  riches  he  cap- 
tured, and  this  displeased  some  of  his  soldiers  who 
wanted  the  gold  for  themselves.  When  the  senate  of 
Rome  wanted  to  vote  ^Emilius  a  triumph,  the  army 
objected  on  that  account,  but  an  old  general  arose  and 
said  that  he  now  saw  how  good  a  general  ^Emilius  was, 
for  he  had  won  a  great  victory  with  an  army  of  grum- 
blers. This  reply  rebuked  the  soldiers  and  ^Emilius 
was  voted  a  triumph. 

The  triumph  was  a  great  celebration  given  by  the 
senate  to  a  victorious  general,  and  was  the  highest 
honor  that  could  be  given  him.  This  one  given 
^Emilius  Paulus  was  not  the  first  or  the  last  one  given 
in  Rome,  but  it  was  the  last  one  given  to  an  army  made 
up  of  free  Roman  citizens  and  a  very  grand  affair  and 
so  I  will  tell  you  something  about  it. 

That  you  may  better  understand  what  the  triumph 
meant,  I  will  tell  you  what  a  general  had  to  do  in  order 
to  be  granted  one.  He  must  have  held  some  of  the 
highest  offices  in  the  government.  He  must  have  been 
actually  in  command  of  the  army  at  the  time  of  the 
victory.  The  victory  must  have  been  gained  with  his 
own  troops.  There  must  have  been  at  least  five  thou- 
sand of  the  enemy  killed  in  the  battle  and  the  war  must 
have  been  brought  to  a  successful  close,      Now  the 


HOW   ROME   CONQUERED   THE  WORLD        207 

general  had  to  do  all  these  things  before  he  might  even 
ask  for  a  triumph  and  then  he  had  often  to  press  his 
claims  before  the  senate  quite  a  while  in  order  to  get 
the  senate  to  vote  him  the  honor. 

Let  us  imagine  how  it  was  in  Rome  on  the  occasion 
of  the  triumphal  procession.  The  city  was  decorated 
with  wreaths  of  flowers.  The  temples  were  thrown 
open  and  incense  rose  from  every  altar.  Sight-seers,  in 
their  holiday  attire,  occupied  every  nook  and  corner  where 
one  could  stand.  Seats  and  stands  were  placed  in  the 
Forum  and  in  other  convenient  places  to  accommodate 
the  people.  Rome  was  all  alive  with  sight-seers.  The 
public  baths,  the  parks,  the  race  courses,  were  swarming 
with  the  crowd.  Officers  kept  the  streets  open  for  the 
procession,  being  careful  that  the  crowd  did  not  get 
in  the  way.  It  required  three  days  for  all  of  the  cere- 
monies of  the  triumphal  procession  of  ^Emilius  Paulus. 

The  consuls,  followed  by  the  senate  and  trumpeters, 
led  the  procession,  after  which  came  wagonloads  of  the 
rare  and  beautiful  things  taken  in  the  war.  Pictures  of 
the  conquered  countries  and  forts,  having  banners  with 
the  names  of  the  towns,  were  borne  after  them.  This  took 
most  of  the  first  day.  On  the  second  day  came  wagons 
with  armor,  arms  and  the  spoils  of  war.  After  them 
marched  three  thousand  men  bearing  bowls  filled  with 
silver  coins,  and  still  after  them,  men  carrying  silver- 
ware of  all  sorts  captured  and  collected  from  the  cap- 
tured towns.  But  the  third  day  was  the  most  splendid 
of  all.  The  procession  was  led  by  a  body  of  flute 
players,  followed  by  young  men  leading  one  hundred 
and  twenty  snow-white  oxen,  with  their  horns  gilded 
and  decked  with  ribbons.     These  oxen  were  intended 


208  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

for  sacrifices  to  the  gods.  After  the  oxen  came  seventy- 
seven  men  bearing  basins  of  gold  coins,  and  with  them 
marched  those  carrying  the  gold  vessels  that  had  been 
captured.  Next  came  the  chariot  of  King  Perseus, 
bearing  his  armor  and  crown.  His  little  children  with 
their  teachers  followed,  and  then  came  the  captured 
king  himself,  dressed  in  black.  After  all  this  followed 
^Emilius  Paulus,  the  conqueror,  dressed  in  the  robe  of 
Jupiter,  wearing  a  gold  crown,  and  riding  in  a  chariot 
drawn  by  white  horses.  A  slave  rode  with  him  and  re- 
minded him  every  little  while  that  he  must  not  be  too 
proud,  for  he  was  but  a  man.  The  last  of  the  proces- 
sion was  composed  of  the  conquering  army  —  the  sol- 
diers bearing  branches  in  their  hands  and  singing  songs. 
After  marching  through  the  streets  amid  the  shouts  of 
the  throng,  the  blare  of  the  trumpets  and  the  music  of 
the  flutes,  the  general,  dressed  in  his  sacred  robes,  rode 
to  the  Capitol,  slew  the  oxen,  offered  sacrifices  and  paid 
his  vows  to  Jupiter,  and  then  went  to  the  mansion  pre- 
pared for  him  at  public  expense  by  the  senate. 

One  of  the  events  of  these  wars  in  the  East  had  a 
great  influence  on  Rome  and  on  her  life.  This  was  the 
destruction  of  another  great  city.  For  some  offense 
the  senate  ordered  the  beautiful  city  of  Corinth,  in 
Greece,  to  be  destroyed  and  burned. 

Corinth  was  a  wealthy  city  and  full  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful works  of  art,  such  as  pictures,  statues  and  build- 
ings. Many  scholars  and  artists  lived  there.  You  no 
doubt  recollect  that  in  our  work  last  year  we  found  that 
Greece  was  a  land  of  scholars  and  artists,  and  now  I 
want  to  tell  you  how  Rome  got  a  liking  for  such  things, 
and,  alas !  for  other  things  which  were  not  so  beautiful. 


HOW   ROME  CONQUERED   THE  WORLD        209 

The  general  who  captured  and  destroyed  Corinth  was 
named  MunVmi-us,  who,  it  seems,  was  a  very  ignorant 
but  a  very  honest  man.  He  had  no  notion  of  the  value 
of  the  pictures  and  statues  which  he  found  in  the  city. 
He  sent  everything  to  Rome,  and  it  is  said  that  he 
made  each  captain  agree  to  replace  any  of  the  valua- 
bles that  might  get  lost  or  damaged,  just  as  if  it  were 
within  the  officer's  power,  for  example,  to  carve  statues 
equal  to  those  of  Phidias,  or  paint  pictures  like  those  of 
Zeux'is  (who,  it  is  said,  painted  grapes  so  well  that  he 
deceived  the  birds),  or  those  of  Par-rha'si-us  (who 
painted  a  curtain  so  well  as  to  deceive  even  Zeuxis 
himself).  Just  as  these  fine  things  were  sent  from 
Corinth  to  Rome,  so  many  other  luxurious  and  artistic 
things  were  sent  from  other  towns  taken  by  the  Romans. 
Indeed,  Rome  was  now  rapidly  becoming  the  center 
toward  which  everything  that  was  artistic,  rich  or  luxuri- 
ous took  its  way.  And  since  the  sober,  practical,  warlike 
Romans  did  not  have  a  talent  for  making  these  beautiful 
things,  when  they  wanted  to  learn  about  them  they  had 
to  learn  from  the  Greeks  themselves ;  and  before  they 
could  do  this,  they  had  to  know  how  to  talk  and  read 
the  Greek  language.  This,  as  you  see,  will  help  the 
Romans  to  carry  Greek  art  and  culture  to  the  West, 
just  as  we  saw,  last  year,  Alexander  the  Great  carried  it 
to  the  East. 

Before  this  it  was  not  common  for  the  Romans  to 
know  how  to  speak  or  read  Greek.  Scipio,  of  whom 
we  learned  in  connection  with  the  war  with  Hannibal, 
took  great  interest  in  Greek,  as  did  Cato,  who  so  strongly 
urged  the  destruction  of  Carthage,  and  the  Gracchi,  of 
whom  we  shall  learn  later. 


210  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

After  the  destruction  of  Corinth,  her  people,  together 
with  thousands  of  others  of  the  Greeks,  were  sold  as 
slaves  to  Rome.  You  know  that  Rome  has  had  slaves 
for  hundreds  of  years  before  this  time,  but  they  were 
not  educated  slaves  as  these  Greeks  were.  Rome 
scarcely  ever  left  the  people  alone  in  the  countries  she 
conquered,  but  sold  the  best  of  them  into  slavery.  We 
once  had,  as  you  know,  a  great  many  slaves  in  this 
country,  but  you  must  not  think  of  Roman  slavery  as 
being  just  like  ours,  for  the  Roman  slave  was  generally 
white  like  his  master,  and  was  only  a  slave  because  he 
had  been  captured  in  war. 

That  you  may  better  understand  the  effect  of  Greek 
slavery  in  Rome,  let  us  imagine  an  example :  Suppose 
we  were  to  get  into  a  war  with  France,  and,  defeating 
her,  were  to  capture  a  great  many  educated  Frenchmen. 
Then  suppose  a  number  of  them  were  brought  to  the 
capital  of  your  state  and  your  fathers  should  go  there 
and  buy  a  finely  educated  Frenchman  to  be  your 
teacher,  one  perhaps  who  had  been  a  doctor,  or  lawyer 
or  college  professor  at  home ;  or  suppose  he  should  buy 
the  grown-up  daughters  of  a  very  rich  man  for  your 
house  servants,  or  the  sons  for  farm  hands  or  gardeners. 
Would  it  not  seem  strange  to  have  such  persons  as 
slaves  ?  Well,  it  was  something  so  with  the  Romans 
when  they  conquered  the  Greeks  and  sent  so  many  of 
them  home  as  slaves.  Thousands  of  these  educated 
Greeks  were  scattered  among  the  Roman  homes. 
There  were  also  thousands  of  other  slaves,  as  Cartha- 
ginians, Spaniards,  Gauls,  Asiatics,  —  people  from  all 
parts  of  the  world,  —  but  the  Greeks,  because  of  their 
education  and  manners,  of  which  I  will  tell  you  later, 


HOW   ROME   CONQUERED   THE   WORLD         211 

had  the  very  greatest  influence  upon  Rome.  Human 
beings  as  slaves  became  very  cheap  and  very  plentiful. 
You  have  heard  the  expression,  "as  cheap  as  dirt "  ;  well, 
once  the  inhabitants  of  Sardinia  rebelled  from  Rome, 
and  when  subdued  were  sold  in  such  numbers  that  the 
Romans  had  an  expression,  "as  cheap  as  a  Sardinian." 
A  Sardinian  could  be  bought  for  fifty  cents.  At  one 
time  it  is  said  that  three-fourths  of  the  population  of 
Rome  were  slaves.  As  to  their  influence  on  Rome  let 
us  think  of  these  slaves  as  divided  into  two  classes,  or 
groups, —  the  educated  and  the  uneducated.  Of  course 
the  majority  belonged  to  the  uneducated  class ;  we  will 
talk  of  them  first  and  of  the  educated  last,  and  this  will 
bring  us  back  to  the  Greeks. 

Slaves  on  the  great  farms  were  treated  more  like 
animals  than  like  human  beings.  The  master  had  com- 
plete control  of  his  slaves  and  could  treat  them  as 
cruelly  as  his  passions  moved  him  to  do,  even  to  the 
point  of  killing  them  if  he  liked,  and  no  one  could 
interfere. 

The  farmers  had  come  now,  at  about  a  hundred  years 
before  Christ,  to  employ  slaves  almost  altogether  in 
cultivating  their  farms,  with  the  result  that  the  small 
farmers  were  obliged  to  give  up  farming  because  they 
could  not  raise  produce  to  sell  so  cheaply  as  the  large 
farmers.  They  then  went  to  the  cities  to  make  a  living, 
and  often  became  idle,  poor  and  vicious,  and  spent  their 
lives  in  stealing,  selling  their  votes  to  politicians  and 
begging  for  something  to  eat.  These,  you  see,  are  not 
the  self-reliant,  plain,  common  people,  free  and  inde- 
pendent, with  homes  of  their  own,  like  those  we  saw  in 
the  early  days  of  Rome.      They  have  become  a  class  of 


212  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

beggars,  depending  upon  the  rich  for  their  living. 
This  then  is  one  thing  the  wars  and  slavery  have  done 
—  they  have  driven  the  small  farmer  out  of  the  country 
into  the  city,  where  he  has  become  poorer  and  often  a 
pauper  in  the  city  of  Rome.  Thus  some  of  the  Roman 
people  are  becoming  very  rich  while  others  grow  very 
poor. 

In  the  second  place,  there  were  so  many  of  these  slaves 
who  had  once  been  free  that  it  kept  Rome  continually 
watching  for  fear  they  would  arm  themselves  and  strike 
for  freedom,  —  as  in  fact  they  did  try  to  do  time  and  time 
again.  In  73  B.C.  a  slave  named  Spartacus  persuaded 
seventy  of  his  companions  to  rebel  with  him.  They 
went  into  the  crater  of  Vesuvius  to  make  arrangements 
for  their  struggle  for  liberty.  Here  they  were  joined  by 
thousands  of  slaves  and  robbers.  Three  thousand  Roman 
soldiers  were  sent  against  them,  but  Spartacus  quickly 
defeated  them.  This  victory  caused  the  slaves,  around 
on  the  farms  and  in  the  cities,  to  run  away  from  their 
masters  by  the  thousands,  until  finally  Spartacus  had  a 
slave  army  of  seventy  thousand  men.  They  captured 
many  of  the  Romans  and  treated  them  as  cruelly  as 
the  Romans  had  treated  the  slaves.  They  managed  to 
withstand  the  Roman  armies  for  two  years,  or  until 
their  leader  was  killed  and  his  followers  scattered. 
Thus  Rome  was  always  afraid  of  her  slaves,  for  as  I 
said,  there  were  now  really  more  slaves  than  there  were 
Romans. 

Again  many  of  the  uneducated  slaves  were  men  and 
women  who  had  immoral  habits,  into  which  the  Romans 
gradually  fell. 

But  I  must  tell  you  also  that  many  of  the  bad  habits 


HOW   ROME   CONQUERED  THE  WORLD         21 3 

which  Rome  contracted  from  her  slave-class,  and  which 
helped  toward  her  ruin,  were  taken  from  the  well-edu- 
cated Greeks. 

That  you  may  understand  this  better,  I  will  tell  you 
something  about  some  of  the  customs  of  the  Greeks 
before  they  became  slaves.  You  remember  how  Greece 
was  cut  up  by  the  mountains.  These  many  little  city- 
states  were  never  able  to  make  a  single  government 
binding  them  all  together.  They  finally  quit  trying  to  do 
so,  and  gave  themselves  up  to  luxurious  living,  study 
and  art.  They  spent  so  much  time  in  warring  and  in 
trying  to  turn  life  into  pleasure,  that  they  forgot  the  wor- 
ship of  their  ancient  gods.  They  argued  so  much  and 
so  cleverly  about  some  of  their  bad  habits  that  nobody 
was  quite  sure  that  anything  was  really  wrong  or  bad. 
One  group  of  these  debaters,  or  philosophers,  as  they 
were  called,  was  led  by  a  man  named  Epicurus,  who 
taught  that  all  people  should  live  for  was  to  enjoy 
themselves.  Epicurus  himself  was  a  very  good  man, 
but  what  he  taught  did  not  have  a  good  effect  upon  the 
people,  because  it  gave  them  an  excuse  for  doing  all 
sorts  of  bad  things  which  they  would  pass  by  lightly, 
saying  these  were  for  their  enjoyment,  and  that  Epicurus 
taught  that  whatever  would  lead  to  enjoyment  was  right 
to  do. 

Besides  Epicurus,  there  were  many  other  leaders  in 
Greece  who  taught  such  different  doctrines  that  the 
people  were  quite  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to  believe. 

Now,  when  these  educated  Greek  slaves  taught  such 
things  to  the  Romans  it  had,  among  other  effects,  these 
two :  —  first,  the  Romans  became  very  luxurious  and 
learned  to  spend  a  great  deal  of  their  time  in  seeking 


214  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

enjoyment  at  the  theater,  baths,  games,  races  and 
gladiatorial  shows ;  and,  second,  they  lost  confidence  in 
their  own  gods  and  in  what  the  gods  were  able  to  do  for 
them.  They  gave  less  attention  to  serious  religious 
life  and  more  to  outward  shows  and  ceremonies,  such 
as  regarding  the  lightning  and  thunder  and  watching 
the  flight  of  birds. 

These  are  some  of  the  unfortunate  results  which 
finally  grew  out  of  the  Romans  learning  to  speak  and 
read  Greek  that  they  might  know  about  the  pictures 
and  statues  and  books  that  were  sent  home  from 
Corinth  and  other  Greek  cities.  Of  course  there  were 
some  educated  slaves  from  other  lands  also  who 
helped  to  bring  about  similar  results. 

Since  the  Romans  are  becoming  such  a  pleasure- 
loving  people,  let  us  now  take  a  look  at  the  way  they 
amuse  themselves,  for  we  can  tell  something  of  a  peo- 
ple by  the  sort  of  amusements  they  enjoy. 

We  must  remember  what  a  great  city  Rome  had 
grown  to  be.  At  this  time  the  circuit  of  the  walls  of 
the  city  was  about  eleven  miles,  and  as  many  people 
lived  within  these  walls  as  now  live  in  Chicago,  i.e.  more 
than  one  million  five  hundred  thousand.  Dotted  here 
and  there  over  Italy  were  many  other  cities,  which  had 
theaters  and  games  and  amusements  just  as  Rome  had. 

Let  us  now  in  imagination  travel  into  the  city  over 
one  of  those  broad  and  solid  roads  which  the  Romans 
knew  how  to  build  so  well.  We  notice,  at  once,  the 
very  narrow  streets.  There  is  a  lack  of  windows  in  the 
walls  of  the  buildings,  many  of  which  are  four  stories 
high.  The  front  doors  open  outward,  instead  of  inward 
as  ours  do.     The  simple   Roman  home  with  thrift  and 


HOW   ROME   CONQUERED    THE   WORLD         21 5 

freedom  and  contentment  which  we  knew  before  the 
war  with  Carthage,  has  very  much  changed,  —  the  great 
mass  live  now  in  miserable  huts,  the  great  nobles  -in 
splendid  mansions, 

Let  us  not  stop  now  to  see  the  sights  of  the  streets,  but 
enter  at  once  into  one  of  the  great  mansions,  filled  in 
the  morning  with  beggars,  who  hang  about  the  owner 
for  their  daily  bread,  and  crowded  in  the  evening  with 
feasters,  who  spend  fortunes  in  feasting  and  drinking. 
To  understand  the  true  Roman  in  early  days  as  he  was, 
we  must  see  him  chiefly  on  the  farm ;  to  understand 
him  in  these  later  days,  we  must  see  him  in  places  of 
luxury  and  pleasure.  Of  all  his  luxuries  and  displays, 
perhaps  none  surpassed  those  connected  with  his  feasts, 
and  I  must  now  briefly  tell  you  something  of  a  typical 
one.  It  is  said  the  dining-table  alone,  made  of  rare 
woods,  cost  the  wealthy  nobles  from  twenty  to  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars.  Around  these  tables  the  feasters  reclined 
on  gorgeous  couches,  covered  with  coverlids  dyed  scarlet, 
and  richly  embroidered  with  figures  of  birds,  beasts  and 
flowers.  When  all  had  reclined  and  were  ready  to  dine, 
slaves  passed  around  the  table  with  silver  basins  and 
ewers,  pouring  scented  water  upon  the  hands  of  the 
guests  and  drying  them  upon  dainty  napkins.  The 
table  was  burdened  with  vessels  of  gold,  silver  and  fine 
earthenware.  At  each  end  of  the  gorgeously  furnished 
room  were  great  urns  filled  with  wine,  from  one  of 
which  cold  drinks  were  served,  from  the  other,  warm. 

After  the  hands  were  daintily  scented  and  the  room 
filled  with  fragrance,  the  feast  began  ;  slaves  hurried 
here  and  there  bearing  costly  and  rare  dishes,- — dormice 
strewed  with  poppy  seeds  and  honey  ;  hare  with  artificial 


2l6  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

wings  to  resemble  Pegasus,  stuffed  fowls,  thrushes 
with  dressing  of  raisins  and  nuts,  oysters,  scallops, 
snails  on  silver  gridirons,  boar  stuffed  with  rare  birds, 
with  baskets  of  dates  and  figs  hanging  from  his  tusks, 
fish  floating  in  gravies,  which  were  poured  from  the 
mouths  of  four  tritons  at  the  corners  of  the  dish,  pea- 
cocks sitting  on  nests,  the  eggs  made  of  beccaficos  sur- 
rounded with  yolks  of  eggs  seasoned  with  pepper,  and 
scores  of  other  dishes  strange  and  costly.  During  all  this 
time  the  music  of  the  harp  mingled  with  the  voices  of 
boys  and  girls,  who  entertained  the  guests  with  dance 
and  song.  Sometimes,  while  the  Romans  dined,  roses 
were  showered  down  upon  them  from  above.  The  cost 
of  many  of  these  feasts  was  very  great.  One  man,  it  is 
said,  paid  $200  for  a  single  fish,  another  $4000  for  a 
dish  of  rare  birds,  and  another  the  sum  of  $40,000  for 
a  single  dinner.  While  a  few  could-  live  in  all  this 
luxury,  there  were  thousands  of  poor  slaves  whose  board 
cost  their  masters  less  than  two  dollars  a  month.  Many 
of  the  Romans  had  now  grown  to  be  gluttons,  and  all  in 
all  you  can  see  how  different  these  days  must  be  from 
those  of  early  times,  when  a  great  Roman  general 
boasted  of  making  his  dinner  upon  a  roasted  turnip. 

Now  having  taken  a  glimpse  of  their  luxurious  din- 
ing, let  us  see  the  Roman  in  the  public  bath.  Many 
of  them  bathe  twice  a  day,  and  some  as  many  as  seven 
or  eight  times.  By  doing  so  they  seek  to  crowd  many 
days  into  one,  and  thus  get  a  greater  pleasure  out  of  life. 
Beggars  and  rich  alike  bathed  in  these  public  baths. 
The  buildings  were  built  of  beautiful  marble  and  were 
among  the  largest  and  most  splendid  in  Rome.  There 
were  united  in  the  great  buildings,  a  theater,  a  gymna- 


HOW   ROME   CONQUERED   THE  WORLD         217 

shim,  and  many  bathrooms  all  of  which  were  ornamented 
within  with  pictures  and  statues.  These  buildings  would 
accommodate  from  1000  to  3000  persons  at  a  time.  The 
cost  of  a  bath  was  in  some  instances  about  one-eighth 
of  a  cent,  but  in  many  places  the  bath  was  free. 

The  most  common  form  of  bath  was  taken  after  exercise 
in  the  gymnasium.  The  bather  undressed  in  the  outer 
room,  or  perhaps  in  the  warm  room,  and  was  then  rubbed 
with  oil.  He  then  took  a  sweat  in  the  hot  room  and 
then  a  warm  bath.  Returning  to  the  first  room  he  took 
a  cold  bath  and  went  back  again  to  the  hot  room  for  a 
second  sweat.  Finally  he  was  rubbed  with  oil  to  pre- 
vent his  taking  cold.  The  bath  over,  the  bather  may 
now  listen  to  what  is  going  on  about  him.  There  is  a 
noisy  crowd  in  the  bath.  Some  are  exercising,  others  be- 
ing rubbed  and  kneaded  by  the  servants.  At  times  there 
are  noisy  quarrels  among  the  motley  crowd  of  bathers ; 
sometimes  a  thief  is  caught,  for  thieving  grew  very  com- 
mon about  the  baths  as  the  poor  class  increased  in  Rome. 
The  splash  of  the  swimmers,  the  noise  of  the  players, 
the  cries  of  those  who  are  selling  cakes,  sausages  and 
sweetmeats,  the  coming  and  going  of  every  class  of  per- 
son, from  luxurious  senator  to. miserable  beggar,  makes 
this  one  of  the  most  active  and  interesting  meeting  places 
for  the  pleasure-loving  Roman. 

The  dinner  and  the  bath  have  taken  most  of  the  day. 
On  the  next  day  let  us  start  early  to  the  circus  to  see 
the  races  and  the  sort  of  people  who  gather  there. 

As  I  have  already  told  you,  the  common  people  have 
been  pushed  off  the  farms  by  slavery.  They  have 
swarmed  to  the  city  and  have  now  become  a  crowd  of 
loafers  and  beggars.     All  they  wish  now  is  something 


2l8  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

to  eat  and  continual  amusement.  There  are  so  many 
of  them  that  the  rulers  and  rich  people  scarcely  know 
what  else  to  do  but  to  keep  them  satisfied  by  giving 
them  what  they  ask  for.  The  games  are  not  religious, 
as  they  once  were  in  the  plain  and  simple  days  of  early 
Rome,  but  serve  wholly  for  amusement.  There  have 
grown  to  be  so  many  of  these  games  and  celebrations 
that  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  holidays  in  the  year 
are  set  aside  that  the  people  may  attend  them  all. 

But  we  must  now  be  off  for  the  races.  The  building 
in  which  the  races  were  held  was  called  a  circus  and 
was  made  of  wood  and  stone.  This  one,  the  Circus 
Maximus,  which  means  the  great  circus,  was  between  a 
quarter  and  a  half  mile  long  and  six  hundred  feet  wide. 
The  great  building  was  U-shaped.  At  the  open  end 
were  placed  the  stalls  from  which  the  races  start.  Tiers 
of  seats  rose  one  above  the  other,  as  you  may  have 
seen  them  at  the  amphitheaters  of  shows  or  fairs.  This 
great  circus  seated  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand people  —  nearly  twice  as  many  as  live  in  the  city 
of  Indianapolis.  Down  through  the  middle  of  the  U 
was  a  low  wall,  around  which  the  races  were  run  and  on 
which  the  judges  sat.  Instead  of  having  light  sulkies 
and  a  single  horse,  as  our  races  have,  they  drove  from 
two  to  ten  horses  side  by  side  to  a  two  wheeled  car,  or 
chariot,  such  as  you  perhaps  have  seen  in  a  street  parade, 
or  in  a  show.  The  driver  wore  some  bright  color,  such 
as  red,  yellow,  green  or  blue,  and  the  people  seemed 
often  to  think  more  of  the  color  than  of  the  driver  or 
horses ;  and  so  at  the  races  there  arose  in  the  motley 
crowd  parties  called  the  Reds,  Yellows,  Greens  and  Blues. 
These  parties  became  so  excited  over   the   success   or 


HOW    ROME    CONQUERED   THE   WORLD         219 

failure  of  their  favorites  that  they  often  came  to  blows. 
Let  us  take  one  of  those  hard  stone  seats  and  watch  the 
teams  all  dart  at  once  from  the  starting  place  at  the 
open  end  of  the  great  U  into  the  race  and  go  dashing 
around  the  circus.  What  a  noise  !  The  trampling  of 
the  running  horses,  the  rattle  of  the  chariots,  and  the 
terrific  shouts  of  the  people  fairly  make  the  great  build- 
ing tremble.  We  can  imagine  how  the  Romans  loved  a 
race  when  we  think  that  they  often  sat  watching  them 
from  early  morning  until  late  at  night.  This  was  all  very 
exciting,  but  what  made  it  more  so  to  them  was  that 
they  gambled  great  sums  of  money  on  the  races.  For- 
tunes were  made  and  lost  sometimes  in  a  day.  These 
are,  indeed,  very  different  people  from  those  of  the  day 
of  Cincinnatus. 

But  what  pleased  them  more  even  than  the  races 
were  the  games  in  the  amphitheater.  Think  of  some 
great  circus,  like  Barnum's,  at  which  you  may  have 
been,  having  instead  of  wooden  seats,  seats  of  stone ; 
instead  of  walls  of  canvas,  great  walls  of  stone ;  and 
instead  of  two  rings,  but  one  great  ring  with  high  walls, 
from  which  nothing  can  escape  when  placed  inside. 
Such  was  the  Roman  amphitheater. 

The  principal  games  held  in  the  amphitheater  were 
not  games  at  all,  as  we  would  think,  but  real  fights 
between  men  and  beasts.  The  chief  amphitheater  in 
Rome  was  called  the  Colosseum.  It  was  built  of  stone, 
was  180  feet  high,  one-third  of  a  mile  around,  and  it 
would  take  all  the  people  in  a  large  city  to  fill  it  full,  for 
it  would  seat  90,000.  Much  of  this  great  building  is 
still  standing,  and  is  to  this  day  one  of  the  most  won- 
derful ruins  still  remaining  of  the  old-time  world.     The 


220  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

men  who  fought  in  the  amphitheater  were  called  gladi- 
ators. Gladiatorial  shows  were  first  given  in  Rome  by 
Brutus,  about  the  time  of  the  first  war  with  Carthage, 
in  honor  of  Brutus'  father.  The  fights  between  gladi- 
ators were  first  given  only  at  funerals,  for  the  Romans, 
like  the  Greeks,  thought  that  the  spirits  of  their  de- 
parted dead  liked  human  blood,  and  the  custom  became 
very  common.  Later,  slaves  and  captives  were  trained 
to  fight  much  as  in  these  days  persons  are  trained  for 
the  bullfights  of  Spain  and  Mexico.  Wild  beasts,  as 
lions,  tigers  and  leopards,  were  often  thrown  together  in 
the  arena  to  fight.  The  gladiators  usually  fought  in 
pairs,  with  swords  or  spears.  When  one  was  wounded 
or  overcome,  if  the  people  in  the  great  audience  wished 
him  killed,  which  they  frequently  did,  they  turned  down 
their  thumbs,  and  he  was  killed  then  and  there ;  but  if  he 
had  made  a  good  fight  and  the  people  wanted  him 
spared  for  another,  they  turned  their  thumbs  up.  At 
one  time  in  the  Colosseum  these  fights  were  continued 
one  hundred  and  twenty  days  ;  ten  thousands  gladiators 
and  many  thousands  of  wild  beasts  were  matched  and 
slaughtered  for  the  amusement  of  the  women  and  chil- 
dren as  well  as  the  men.  The  bullfights  and  prize  fights 
are  some  of  the  things  left  to  remind  us  of  Rome's  de- 
clining days. 

I  have  tried  now  to  show  you  how  what  was  once 
the  great  plain  common  people,  spend  their  time  in 
Rome.  The  little  farm  has  been  swallowed  up  by  the 
big  one ;  the  common  people  have  been  forced  to  give 
way  to  the  slave.  They  have  forgotten  their  love  of 
country  and  are  happy  only  when  they  have  something 
to  eat  and  some  games  with  which  to  amuse  themselves. 


HOW   ROME   CONQUERED    THE   WORLD         221 

The  rich  and  the  noble  have  come  to  be  without  reli- 
gion, have  ceased  to  honor  the  gods ;  and  the  statues  of 
the  gods,  instead  of  being  objects  of  worship,  serve  only 
as  ornaments  in  baths,  parks,  circuses  and  theaters. 
The  signs  and  omens,  which  were  once  sacred,  are  now 
scoffed  at  and  have  been  turned  to  base  uses  by  dema- 
gogues to  deceive  and  oppress  the  people.  Do  you  see 
that  although  Rome  has  grown  rich  in  territory,  she 
is  growing  poor  in  honest,  industrious,  upright  men  ? 
Rome  is  rapidly  conquering  the  world  with  the  sword, 
but  in  doing  so  she  is  overturning  herself  by  wealth, 
slavery,  luxury  and  crime. 

As  I  have  already  told  you,  there  are  now  in  Rome 
mainly  two  classes,  the  very  rich  and  the  very  poor. 
But  we  must  not  think  every  Roman  has  become  corrupt 
and  lost  all  love  for  his  country.  There  are  occasionally 
persons  who  see  the  danger  that  Rome  is  drifting  into 
and  try  to  avoid  it.  Such  were  the  Gracchi,  of  whom  I 
must  now  tell  you. 

Tiberius  and  Caius  Gracchus  were  brothers  and  of  a 
noble  family.  Their  mother,  named  Cornelia,  was  a 
sister  of  the  great  Scipio,  who  conquered  Hannibal. 
Their  father's  name  was  Tiberius  Gracchus.  The 
Romans,  who  sometimes  imagined  things,  told  the  story 
that  one  day  the  father  found  a  couple  of  snakes  in  his 
bedchamber.  A  priest,  being  consulted,  told  him  he 
must  kill  one  of  the  snakes,  but  if  he  killed  the  male, 
he  himself  would  soon  die ;  and  if  he  killed  the  female 
snake,  Cornelia  would  soon  die.  He  killed  the  male 
and  soon  after  died.  Cornelia  then  gave  all  her  attention 
to  her  children.  Tiberius  was  about  ten  years  older  than 
Caius.     He  entered  the  army  when  he  was  old  enough 


222  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

and  by  his  courage  and  manliness  soon  won  a  place  of 
honor.  Many  of  the  common  people  when  forced  to 
leave  their  small  farms  joined  the  army  in  the  field. 
These  people  came  to  know  Tiberius  well  and  were 
good  friends  of  his.  Tiberius,  although  of  noble  family, 
became  greatly  interested  in  the  common  people,  so 
he  left  the  army,  returned  to  Rome,  and  was  elected 
tribune  in  order  to  try  to  help  them.  He  tried  most 
earnestly  to  remedy  the  evils  he  saw.  He  brought  for- 
ward a  law  which  was  intended  to  divide  out  the  large 
tracts  of  land,  occupied  by  the  rich,  to  the  common 
people,  and  provide  small  homes  for  the  poor.  Of 
course  the  rich  objected.  But  finally  Tiberius  won  the 
day,  and  the  law  was  passed.  In  order  to  get  the  law 
fulfilled  Tiberius  tried  to  become  elected  tribune  a 
second  time,  which  was  contrary  to  the  Roman  law.  A 
riot  took  place  at  the  election,  and  Tiberius  was  killed. 

His  brother  Caius  was  at  the  time  with  the  army  in 
Spain.  He  soon  came  home  and  was  chosen  tribune 
by  the  friends  of  his  brother.  He  took  up  the  reforms 
of  Tiberius.  He  gained  the  good  will  of  the  poor  peo- 
ple by  dividing  among  them  some  of  the  lands  occupied 
by  the  rich,  and  by  getting  a  law  passed  which  gave 
them  corn  for  food  for  nothing.  While  this  pleased  the 
poor  it  was  a  bad  law  for  them,  because  it  tended  to 
make  them  more  idle  than  they  already  were.  He  won 
some  of  the  rich  people  to  his  side  by  taking  power 
from  the  senate  and  giving  it  to  them.  But  Caius 
wanted  to  do  even  more  than  this  —  he  wished  to  give 
all  the  Latins  throughout  Italy  the  same  privileges 
as  the  citizens  of  Rome,  so  that  they  might  all  vote 
and    have   a   chance    to   hold    office.      When    he   tried 


HOW   ROME   CONQUERED   THE   WORLD         223 

this,  the  very  people  he  was  wanting  to  help  turned 
against  him,  and  when  Caius  sought  to  be  reelected,  the 
common  people  defeated  him.  In  a  riot  that  followed 
the  election,  Caius,  too,  was  murdered,  that  he  might  not 
be  in  the  way  of  the  nobles. 

For  a  long  time  these  two  brothers  were  not  under- 
stood by  the  people,  but  to-day  they  are  looked  upon 
as  two  of  the  great  men  of  Rome  because  of  their 
efforts  to  help  the  poor  and  to  keep  Rome  from  going 
to  ruin.  Cornelia,  by  bringing  up  her  children  to  be 
such  unselfish,  patriotic  men,  was  no  longer  known  as 
the  sister  of  Scipio,  but  as  the  "  mother  of  the  Gracchi." 

While  Rome  was  having  these  troubles  at  home,  and 
spending  much  time  and  money  in  races  and  gladia- 
torial fights,  she  also  had  armies  everywhere  —  in 
Greece,  Asia  Minor,  Egypt,  northern  Africa,  Spain  and 
Gaul  —  all  of  which  were  made  into  provinces  of  Rome. 

She  gave  these  countries  peace  and  good  government, 
and  bound  them  closely  to  herself  by  those  broad,  solid 
roads  about  which  we  have  already  studied.  It  is  sur- 
prising to  us  how  rapidly  they  could  carry  news  over 
these  roads.  We  should  think  it  very  good  traveling 
to  go  fifty  or  sixty  miles  a  day  on  horseback  or  in  a 
carriage,  yet  they  traveled  twice  as  far  in  one  day. 
Think  of  going  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles  in 
one  day  on  horseback!  These  roads  were  to  Rome 
what  our  railroads,  telegraphs  and  telephones  are  to  us, 
—  they  tied  that  great  country  together,  and  made  it 
possible  for  it  to  be  ruled  from  a  common  center  at 
Rome. 

But  how  shall  Rome  maintain  her  great  government  ? 
The   Gracchi,  as  we  have  seen,  are  now  dead.     The 


224  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

senate,  on  account  of  the  selfishness,  luxury  and  vice 
of  its  members,  was  becoming  less  fit  each  year  to  rule. 
The  time  had  now  come  when  it  was  no  longer  the 
noble  body  it  was  in  early  days,  or  in  the  perilous  times 
of  Hannibal,  when  nobody  could  bribe  it,  and  when  it 
was  so  great  as  to  be  called  an  assembly  of  kings. 
One  man  soon  became  master  of  it,  and  by  so  doing 
became  master  of  all  Rome.  Let  us  see  how  this  all 
came  about 

A  poor  country  boy,  named  Caius  Marius,  entered  the 
army,  and  without  any  aid  rose  to  the  highest  position. 
When  he  was  a  boy  it  was  told  of  him  that  an  eagle's 
nest,  with  seven  young  ones  in  it,  fell  from  a  tree  into 
his  lap.  The  wise  men  said  it  meant  he  would  be  con- 
sul seven  times.  He  learned  to  fight  under  the  teach- 
ing of  a  son  of  the  ^Emilius  Paulus  of  whose  triumph 
you  already  know.  Marius  struggled  for  a  long  time 
from  one  position  to  another  in  the  lower  ranks  of  the 
army  till  finally  his  opportunity  came.  The  Roman 
senate  declared  war  against  Jugurtha,  ruler  of  a  lit- 
tle kingdom  near  Carthage,  in  northwestern  Africa. 
Jugurtha  was  not  easily  conquered,  and  Marius,  who 
was  serving  in  a  subordinate  position  in  the  army  in 
Africa,  concluded  to  leave  the  army  and  go  to  Rome, 
and  see  if  he  could  not  get  to  be  consul  and  thus  secure 
chief  command. 

Now  the  common  soldiers  all  liked  Marius  because 
he  was  one  of  them,  eating  the  same  coarse  fare  and 
digging  in  the  ditches  with  them ;  but  the  Roman  gen- 
eral commanding  in  Africa  laughed  at  Marius  when  he 
wanted  to  go  to  Rome  to  be  elected  consul,  and  told 
him  he  could  go,  for  he  had  no  idea  Marius  would  be 


HOW   ROME   CONQUERED   THE   WORLD         225 

chosen.  But  Marius,  on  arriving  at  Rome,  told  the 
common  people  how  he  thought  he  could  bring  the  war 
to  a  close  in  a  short  time.  They  believed  him,  elected 
him  consul,  and  gave  him  command  against  Jugurtha. 
He  found  it  harder  to  conquer  Jugurtha  than  he  ex- 
pected, but  he  was  finally  successful. 

As  soon  as  this  war  was  over  another  broke  out,  and 
Rome  was  in  great  danger,  so  Marius  was  made  consul 
the  second  time.  Well,  this  continued  till  Marius  had 
been  chosen  consul  five  times,  and  it  began  to  look  as 
if  he  would  be  consul  seven  times,  as  the  wise  men  had 
prophesied  when  the  eagles  fell  into  his  lap. 

A  great  danger  to  Rome  now  came  from  the  north- 
east. A  fierce  and  wild  tribe  of  people,  carrying  their 
wives  and  children  with  them  and  wandering  about 
hunting  new  homes,  came  through  the  passes  of  the 
Alps  and  tried  to  settle  on  the  Roman  lands  in  the  Po 
valley.  These  people  were  large  and  strong,  with 
fierce,  blue  eyes;  and  they  frightened  the  Romans 
more  than  did  the  Gauls,  who  tried  to  capture  Rome 
three  hundred  years  before. 

Marius  fought  these  wild  people  (who  were  Teutons, 
or  Germans)  for  quite  a  while,  and  at  last  defeated  them 
in  a  terrific  battle  at  Vercellae,  in  northern  Italy,  in  the 
year  101  B.C.  For  this  deed  Marius  was  called  the  Third 
Founder  of  Rome,  was  given  a  splendid  triumph  and 
was  soon  after  elected  consul  for  the  sixth  time. 

Now,  if  Marius  had  known  how  to  rule  as  well  as  he 
knew  how  to  fight,  and  had  tried  to  right  some  of  the 
wrongs  the  Gracchi  had  tried  to  cure,  he  might  still 
have  saved  the  common  people.  But  it  was  said  of 
him,  that  he  cared  to  be  not  a  good  man,  but  a  great 


226  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

one.  He  hesitated  so  long  whether  to  join  the  side  of 
the  common  people  or  that  of  the  nobles,  that  he  lost 
the  good  will  of  many  on  both  sides.  At  last  he  became 
the  leader  of  the  common  people,  while  Sulla,  a  famous 
Roman  general,  became  leader  of  the  nobles.  The  two 
parties,  already  jealous  of  each  other,  began  war  be- 
tween themselves.  Marius  was  promised  the  seventh 
consulship,  and  besides,  the  two  generals  being  intensely 
jealous,  the  war  was  a  very  bloody  one.  Sulla's  party  at 
first  overcame  Marius  and  took  Rome.  It  was  the  first 
time  Rome  was  ever  captured  by  her  own  people.  Marius 
escaped  from  Rome,  but  thousands  of  his  followers 
were  killed  by  Sulla.  Marius  had  many  strange  and 
trying  experiences  in  his  flight  from  his  enemies,  being 
once  captured  and  having  a  slave  sent  to  kill  him  in  his 
prison ;  but  Marius  looked  so  fiercely  at  him  and  cried 
out,  "  Fellow,  darest  thou  slay  Caius  Marius  ?  "  that  the 
slave  dropped  his  sword  and  ran  away.  Soon  after  they 
liberated  Marius  from  prison. 

At  last  Sulla  left  Rome  to  go  to  the  wars,  and  the 
friends  of  Marius  got  control  of  the  city  and  Marius 
came  back  —  master  of  Rome  again.  He  went  about 
the  streets  with  some  soldiers,  who  killed  every  friend 
of  Sulla's  at  whom  Marius  pointed  his  finger.  He  was 
now  chosen  consul  the  seventh  time,  but  lived  afterward 
only  a  few  days.  On  Sulla's  return  to  Rome  he  put  to 
death  more  of  Marius'  friends  than  Marius  had  of 
Sulla's.  You  see  at  this  time  instead  of  Rome  using 
her  army  to  protect  herself  from  outside  barbarians,  she 
is  turned  into  two  great  camps  led  by  selfish  generals 
who  care  not  for  Rome  but  for  themselves. 

Sulla  forced  the  senate  to  choose  him  dictator  for  as 


HOW   ROME   CONQUERED    THE   WORLD         227 

long  as  he  wished.  He  was  now  in  complete  control  of 
Rome.  He  used  his  power  well  after  all  the  evil  things 
he  had  done  before.  He  changed  the  laws  in  many 
ways  for  the  better,  and,  strange  to  say,  he  gave  up  the 
dictatorship  after  some  time  and  restored  the  power  of 
the  senate.  Sulla  went  to  his  home  in  the  country, 
passed  a  very  luxurious  life  there  for  a  time,  and  died 
in  78  B.C.,  his  body,  by  his  own  request,  being  burned. 

Thus,  you  see,  as  Rome  has  gone  out  to  conquer  the 
world  she  has  grown  weaker  and  more  brutal  at  home. 
The  senate  has  lost  all  real  power,  and  one  man,  as,  for 
example,  Marius  or  Sulla,  has  gained  possession  of  the 
government  and  uses  it  for  his  greedy  ends.  The  morals 
and  manners  of  the  people  have  greatly  changed  and  in 
most  cases  have  become  vastly  worse  than  they  were  in 
the  days  of  Hannibal,  two  hundred  years  before  Christ, 
and  have  vastly  changed  from  the  simple,  sturdy  morals 
and  manners  of  early  Rome. 

The  next  great  effort  made  to  get  control  of  Rome 
was  quite  successful.  This  effort  was  made  by  Julius 
Caesar. 

Julius  Caesar  belonged  to  the  noble,  or  patrician, 
class  of  people,  but  he  was  a  nephew  of  Marius,  and 
perhaps  this  is  one  reason  why  he  joined  the  people's 
party.  He  was  only  a  boy  when  Marius  and  Sulla  were 
having  their  fierce  struggles.  At  one  time  Sulla  wished 
to  kill  Caesar  but  was  prevented  from  doing  so  by  the 
friends  of  Caesar.  Sulla  said  of  him,  "  In  that  young 
man  there  are  many  Mariuses,"  and  fearing  his  power 
when  he  grew  to  manhood,  he  wished  to  kill  him  while 
he  was  young. 

Caesar,  born  in   100  B.C.,  grew   up  as  other  wealthy 


228  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

young  Romans  of  that  day :  living  a  very  luxurious  life 
when  young,  but  acquired  "learning,  taste,  wit,  elo- 
quence and  the  sentiments  and  manners  of  an  accom- 
plished gentleman."  He  had  many  wonderful  adventures 
when  young  which  we  shall  study  more  in  detail  when 
we  study  his  biography.  He  was  the  greatest  orator  of 
his  time  except  Cicero,  and  the  greatest  general  of  all 
times  except  Hannibal.  He  was  the  greatest  statesman 
of  Rome.  At  the  age  of  forty  he  wished  to  be  chosen 
consul.  He  had  for  many  years  been  a  great  friend  to 
the  common  people,  mixing  with  the  lower  classes  and 
furnishing-  them  with  amusements  and  games  which  are 
said  to  have  been  the  most  magnificent  ever  yet  seen  in 
Rome.  He  was  chosen  consul  at  the  age  of  forty,  and 
till  the  day  of  his  death,  44  B.C.,  when  he  was  fifty-six 
years  old,  he  was  the  most  powerful  man  in  Rome. 

Two  other  great  men,  —  Pompey  and  Crassus, — 
wished  also  to  secure  power  and  wealth  through  office, 
so  they  joined  with  Caesar  and  the  three  divided  the 
Roman  world  among  them.  Crassus  was  soon  killed, 
after  which  Pompey  was  made  general  in  the  East,  and 
Caesar  went  as  general  to  Gaul  —  that  is,  to  the  country 
we  now  know  as  France.  There  were  many  barbaric 
tribes  in  Gaul,  and  Caesar  spent  several  years  in  conquer- 
ing them.  While  there,  Caesar  wrote  an  account  of  the 
wars  with  the  different  tribes,  and  when  you  are  old 
enough  to  read  Latin  you  will  read  Caesar's  own  account 
of  how  he  conquered  that  country  and  made  it  a  province 
of  Rome. 

Pompey,  thinking  Caesar  was  becoming  too  great  a 
man,  tried  to  gain  greater  control  than  he  over  the 
senate  at  Rome.      This  turned  these  strong  friends  into 


HOW  ROME   CONQUERED   THE  WORLD         229 

bitter  enemies.  The  fact  was  that  the  Roman  senate 
was  very  weak  and  corrupt  all  this  time,  and  was  very 
easily  controlled  by  any  strong  man ;  but  Pompey,  who 
was  now  master  at  Rome,  was  afraid  to  try  to  rule 
openly  without  pretending  to  ask  the  help  of  the  senate. 
He  was  also  very  jealous  of  Caesar's  success  in  Gaul; 
so,  when  Caesar  heard  that  Pompey  was  seeking  to  get 
all  power  into  his  own  hands,  he  left  his  army  in  Gaul 
and  started  hastily  for  Rome.  He  crossed  the  river 
Rubicon  into  Pompey's  province,  and  immediately  war 
began  between. the  two  great  generals  to  decide  which 
should  be  master  of  Rome  and  the  whole  Roman  world. 
The  story  of  the  struggle  between  these  two  great  men 
is  a  long  one,  and  we  shall  hear  something  more  about 
it  in  their  biographies;  but  here  I  will  tell  you  that 
Caesar  defeated  Pompey  in  several  battles  and  followed 
him  to  the  East,  where  Pompey  himself  was  killed. 
Caesar  was  now  master  of  Rome  and  after  some  time 
made  himself  master  of  the  whole  Roman  world.  He 
was  given  several  great  triumphs  by  the  senate  for  his 
various  victories. 

Since  the  senate  and  people  had  shown  so  plainly 
that  they  were  no  longer  fit  to  rule,  Caesar  thought  it 
best  to  carry  on  the  government  himself.  He,  however, 
retained  the  senate  and  kept  up  as  well  the  pretense  of 
consulting  it.  He  took  the  title  imperator,  or  com- 
mander. He  was,  as  I  have  already  said,  the  greatest 
general  Rome  ever  had,  and  he  could  govern  wisely 
as  well  as  fight. 

He  did  many  great  things  for  the  Roman  people. 
He  tried  to  check  slavery.  He  planted  new  colonies. 
He  reformed  the  laws  so  as  to  help  the  common  people 


230  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

and  changed  the  calendar  to  something  the  way  it  is  now 
in  our  almanacs.  He  gave  his  name  to  one  month  of  the 
year  —  July,  from  Julius.  He  built  many  fine  buildings 
in  Rome  and  planned  others.  He  extended  roads 
throughout  the  country.  He  drained  great  marshes 
near  Rome,  and  thus  made  new  land  for  settlement. 
But  while  Caesar  was  doing  all  of  these  things  for  his 
country  he  grew  to  have  bitter  enemies,  who  said  he  was 
striving  to  be  king.  On  the  15th  of  March,  44  B.C., 
Caesar  went  to  the  senate  house  to  attend  a  meeting  of 
the  senate.  Quite  a  crowd  of  senators  gathered  about 
him,  as  if  to  ask  some  favors,  when  suddenly  daggers 
were  drawn  and  Caesar  was  stabbed  to  death. 

It  was  a  sad  day  for  Rome,  for  the  senate  was 
corrupt  and  unable  to  rule,  and  at  first  there  seemed  to 
be  no  one  who  could  fill  Caesar's  place.  Long  and 
bloody  wars  followed  between  the  different  parties  at 
Rome,  and  from  all  the  leaders  that  came  forward  a 
young  nephew  of  Caesar,  named  Octavius,  afterward 
called  Augustus,  conquered  all  his  enemies  and  made 
himself  master  of  the  Roman  world.  The  great  republic 
which  developed  Rome  into  a  mighty  power  is  now  dead. 
The  senate,  once  so  strong  and  patriotic,  is  now  corrupt 
and  selfish ;  the  plain  soldiers,  once  so  brave  and  stead- 
fast, have  been  turned  into  plunderers  and  seekers  for 
spoil.  By  all  this  weakness,  war  and  vice,  as  I  have  said, 
the  government  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  single  man,  and 
this  was  the  very  thing  that  great  patriots  like  the 
Gracchi  had  given  their  lives  to  prevent. 

Augustus  was  a  good  man  and  ruled  wisely,  giving 
such  peace  to  the  Roman  world  as  it  had  not  enjoyed 
for  hundreds  of  years  before ;  and  this  peace  and  order 


HOW   ROME   CONQUERED   THE   WORLD         23 1 

lasted  during  most  of  the  first  and  second  centuries 
after  Christ.  Men  during  this  time  had  opportunity  to 
think  and  study  and  write.  Much  literature  that  we 
now  read  was  written  then,  as  the  poems  of  Virgil  and 
Horace ;  the  writings  of  Tacitus,  the  greatest  of  Roman 
historians ;  and  those  of  Seneca,  the  greatest  of  Roman 
philosophers. 

It  seemed  in  this  peaceful  time  as  if  Rome  was 
returning  to  all  the  glory  and  strength  of  the  old-time 
republic ;  and  because  of  the  quiet  of  the  great  empire, 
the  good  laws  which  Rome  taught  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty  millions  of  people  living  all  around  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea,  and  the  many  writers  of  the  time,  this  has 
been  called  the  "golden  age  of  Rome,"  and  sometimes 
the  Augustan  age. 

But  I  have  not  yet  told  you  of  the  greatest  thing  that 
occurred  in  the  world  just  at  the  time  that  Rome 
became  an  empire ;  in  fact  it  was  the  greatest  thing  that 
has  ever  occurred  in  the  history  of  all  the  world. 

In  a  village  of  a  far-away  eastern  province  of  Rome, 
Judea,  was  born  a  child  that  was  to  change  the  history 
of  the  world  more  than  Alexander  or  Caesar  or  any 
other  great  person  had  changed  it.  This  was  the 
Christ-child.  He  grew  up  to  manhood,  taught  peace, 
kindness  and  brotherly  love  to  the  people  whom  he 
daily  mingled  with,  and  was  crucified ;  but  his  great  life 
gradually  came  to  rule  the  souls  of  men  more  completely 
than  Rome  had  ruled  their  bodies.  The  Roman  life,  as 
I  have  already  told  you,  went  quietly  on  in  the  empire 
for  almost  two  hundred  years  after  the  birth  of  Christ, 
during  which  time  all  that  was  best  in  the  Roman 
language,  literature  and  law  spread  around  the  Mediter- 


232  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

ranean  Sea.  No  nation  had  ever  before  brought  such 
quiet  to  the  world,  or  bound  it  together  under  one  single 
government  as  had  the  Romans ;  but  after  a  while  this 
peace  was  broken  in  many  ways.  Men  began  to  quarrel 
about  who  should  be  emperor,  and  many  emperors  were 
murdered.  The  rich  people  grew  richer  and  more 
vicious;  the  poor,  poorer  and  more  miserable.  The 
races  and  games  were  visited  more  often  ;  Rome  became 
all  but  a  nation  of  slaves,  and  taxes  grew  so  heavy  upon 
the  people  that  they  could  not  pay  them.  All  this  time, 
here  and  there  were  growing  up  small  companies  of 
people,  at  first  plain  people  and  poor,  who  had  taken  up 
the  new  doctrines  of  Christ  because  it  gave  them  some- 
thing to  hope  for  after  their  worn-out  lives  of  suffering 
and  toil. 

The  Romans  did  not  like  the  Christians,  because  they 
would  not  worship  the  emperors  as  gods,  and  several 
efforts  were  made  to  kill  all  of  them.  One  very  wicked 
emperor,  named  Nero,  gave  great  games  at  night  and 
lighted  his  grounds  with  burning  Christians,  who  had 
been  wrapped  in  tar  and  pitch  and  raised  on  long  poles. 
If  anything  went  wrong  in  Rome,  as  the  occurrence  of  a 
plague  or  great  fire,  the  Christians  were  sure  to  be 
blamed  for  it,  and  many  would  be  put  to  death. 

Once,  when  they  were  having  gladiatorial  fights,  a 
Christian  named  Te-lem'a-chus  jumped  into  the  arena 
and  separated  the  fighters.  But  Telemachus  was  stoned 
to  death  at  once  by  the  people  for  spoiling  their  sport. 
The  emperor,  however,  ordered  the  gladiatorial  shows 
to  be  stopped  ;  there  were  growing  to  be  so  many  Chris- 
tians now  that  he  did  not  dare  oppose  them. 

The  Christians  were  growing  in  numbers  for  two  chief 


HOW  ROME   CONQUERED   THE  WORLD         233 

reasons :  —  first,  the  old  religion  of  Rome,  because  the 
people  had  lost  confidence  in  their  gods,  had  ceased  to 
give  them  peace  of  mind,  while  Christianity  gave  them 
hope  and  filled  the  longings  and  aspirations  of  the  soul 
as  no  other  religion  could ;  and,  second,  the  government 
all  around  the  Mediterranean  Sea  with  fine  roads  lead- 
ing to  every  part  of  the  empire  made  traveling  so  easy 
that  people  could  readily  pass  from  place  to  place  and 
carry  the  new  doctrine. 

.  Finally,  about  325  a.d.,  a  Roman  emperor  named 
Constantine  adopted  the  Christian  religion  and  pro- 
claimed it  the  religion  of  the  whole  empire.  From 
that  time  on  all  the  Roman  empire  rapidly  became 
Christian. 

During  the  first  three  centuries  after  Christ  was  born, 
Rome  was  able  to  keep  back  the  strong  German  tribes 
who  wandered  through  the  woods  of  the  North ;  but  as 
Rome  turned  more  to  pleasure  and  vice,  the  Roman 
army  was  filled  largely  with  German  soldiers,  who, 
living  for  a  time  in  Rome,  saw  some  of  the  new  life 
there  and  often  took  it  back  to  their  German  homes. 
Trade  gradually  sprang  up  between  the  Germans  and 
Romans,  and  whole  tribes  of  rude  warriors  were  hired  by 
Rome  to  protect  her  borders ;  but  finally  in  476  a.d.,  a 
German  barbarian  chief,  O-do-a'cer,  captured  the  Eternal 
City,  compelled  the  boy-Emperor,  Romulus  Au-gus'tu-lus, 
to  give  up  the  Crown,  made  himself  king,  and,  with  the 
force  and  ignorance  of  a  barbarian,  began  to  rule  in  the 
seat  which  had  been  occupied  by  Roman  Kings,  Consuls 
and  Emperors  for  more  than  a  thousand  years.  But 
what  the  Germans,  or  Teutons,  as  they  are  often  called, 
found  at  Rome,  and  how  the  Romans  finally  educated 


234  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

the  Germans,  just  as  the  Greeks  educated  the  Romans, 
we  shall  see  next  year  in  the  history  work  in  the  fifth 
grade. 

Now  let  us  look  back  over  the  great  stream  of  Roman 
history  and  briefly  review  what  we  have  seen. 

First  we  saw  infant  Rome,  nourished,  as  it  were,  on 
wolf-milk,  grow  to  be  as  strong  and  brave  as  a  wolf 
itself.  We  saw  Rome  creep  slowly  out  from  her  seven 
hills  till  she  had  conquered  the  people  near  by  on  the 
plains,  then  up  to  the  mountains  and  conquer  the  rough, 
half-civilized,  mountaineers.  All  these  people  she  bound 
tightly  to  herself  by  building  permanent  roads  through 
their  territory,  settling  colonies  among  them,  and  teach- 
ing them  the  laws,  manners  and  customs  of  Rome. 

All  of  this  time  there  was  going  on  at  Rome  the  fierce 
struggle  between  the  rich  patrician  and  the  poor  ple- 
beian. After  two  hundred  years  of  struggle,  the  ple- 
beians became  equal  to  the  patricians.  Rome  then  felt 
strong,  and  with  a  senate,  composed  of  brave,  virtuous, 
unselfish  men,  began  the  fierce  struggle  with  Carthage 
and  her  great  general,  Hannibal.  With  Carthage  con- 
quered, we  saw  Rome,  like  a  mighty  fisherman  firmly 
draw  her  net  of  law  around  the  Mediterranean  and  catch 
and  hold  securely  in  its  meshes  all  the  peoples  studied 
in  the  first,  second  and  third  grades,  —  Egypt,  Judea, 
Mesopotamia,  Phoenicia  and  Greece.  All  these  she 
finally  bound  into  one  immense  government,  having  one 
ruler,  one  law,  one  mighty  system  of  roads  reaching  to 
every  corner  of  the  immense  empire.  Then  we  saw 
Greek  literature  and  Greek  philosophy  spread  throughout 
the  west.  Finally,  as  Rome  was  growing  old  and  losing 
her  power  to  rule,  we  saw  the  rise  of  the  King  whose 


HOW   ROME  CONQUERED   THE   WORLD        235 

kingdom  was  not  to  be  of  this  world,  and  whose  law 
was  to  be  the  law  of  love.  As  men  came  to  under- 
stand this  law,  slowly,  quietly  and  almost  unnoticed, 
Christianity  took  root  and,  amid  much  opposition,  con- 
tinued to  grow  till  it  burst  the  bounds  of  the  old  empire 
and  spread  throughout  Europe.  Rome  had  lived  for 
more  than  a  thousand  years  and  had  taught  the  world 
as  no  other  nation  had  been  able  to  do  the  great  lesson 
of  how  to  build  a  mighty  nation  with  a  single  center 
from  which  to  rule.  In  doing  so,  she  had  become  the 
great  western  reservoir  which  gathered  into  this  center 
the  streams  of  wealth,  culture,  art,  law,  philosophy, 
literature,  religion  and  learning  which  had  been  slowly 
flowing  westward  from  Memphis,  Babylon,  Tyre,  Jerusa- 
lem, Athens  and  Alexandria  through  the  thousands  of 
years  which  had  gone  before. 

When  Rome  died  as  a  government  she  did  not  die  in 
the  hearts  and  minds  of  men,  for,  as  already  said,  a 
mightier  power  than  she  arose  to  carry  all  this  thought 
and  culture  forward  into  the  north  and  west  of  Europe 
and  finally  on  to  America,  — this  was  the  great  power  of 
Christianity  and  the  Christian  Church. 

Thus  we  more  and  more  see,  as  we  go  on  with  our 
study  of  the  stream  of  history,  how  the  great  things 
worked  out  by  one  nation  are  not  lost  to  the  world  when 
that  nation  dies,  but  are  caught  up  and  carried  on  to 
future  peoples  and  nations  by  the  great  institutions  of 
religion,  government,  industry,  education  and  social 
life  which  all  people  help  to  work  out  and  which,  being 
continually  nourished  with  new  thought,  always  re- 
main young. 


236  SCHOOL   HISTORY 


References 

Plutarch :  Lives  (Two  Volumes)  ;  A.  L.  Burt,  N.Y. 

Preston  and  Dodge :    The   Private   Life  of  the  Romans ;    B.   L. 

Sanborn,  Boston. 
Thomas :  Roman  Life  Under  the  Caesars  ;  Putnam's  Sons,  N.Y. 
Ramsay :    Elementary   Manual  of  Roman   Antiquities ;    Scribner's 

Sons,  N.Y. 
Pellison :    Roman  Life  in  Pliny's  Time ;   Flood  &  Vincent,  Mead- 

ville,  Pa. 
Mommsen :   History  of  Rome  (abridged  edition)  ;   Scribner's  Sons, 

N.Y. 
Merivale:    General   History  of  Rome;    Longmans,  Green  &  Co., 

N.Y. 
Harding:  The  City  of  the  Seven  Hills;   Scott,  Foresman  &  Co., 

Chicago. 
Guerber  :  The  Story  of  the  Romans  ;  American  Book  Co.,  Cincinnati. 
Merivale :  The  Roman  Triumvirates  ;  "\ 

<  The  Early  Empire.  >  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 

'  I  The  Age  of  the  Antonines.     ) 
Kemp :  Outlines  of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools  ;  Ginn 

&  Co.,  Boston. 
Study  the  biography  of  Cato,  the  Gracchi,  Pompey,  Caesar,  Virgil, 

Trajan. 


FIFTH-GRADE   WORK 

The  aim  of  the  fifth-grade  work  in  history  as  here  presented,  is 
to  help  the  pupil  to  see  :  — 

i.  The  general  geographical  conditions  of  Europe  which  sur- 
rounded our  early  Teutonic  ancestors,  say  from  the  birth  of  Christ 
down  to  about  500  a.d. 

2.  The  effect  of  these  surroundings  in  forming  the  early  Teutonic 
character,  and  the  kind  of  religious,  social,  industrial,  political  and 
educational  life  that  these  "  Children  of  the  Woods "  lived  during 
their  infancy. 

3.  The  influence  of  Christianity,  as  developed  in  the  monastery, 
in  lifting  the  Teutonic  children  up  to  higher  ideals  of  life. 

4.  The  influence  of  Rome,  Christianity  and  the  Teutonic  spirit, 
all  mingling  and  producing  Feudalism  and  the  Feudal  Castle,  in 
lifting  the  early  Teuton  up  to  higher  institutions. 

The  material  here  presented  for  both  teacher  and  pupil  is  intended 
to  present  some  of  the  chief  features  of  three  phases  of  life  :  — 

a.  The  life  of  the  early  Teuton  while  his  home  was  chiefly  in  the 
woods. 

b.  This  same  life  as  influenced  by  Christianity  and  especially  by 
the  monastery. 

c.  This  same  life  as  further  influenced  by  Feudalism  and  espe- 
cially by  the  Feudal  Castle. 


237 


THE  TEUTONIC  CHILDREN  OF  THE  WOODS, 
AND  HOW  THEY  LIVED 

Do  you  recall  how  we  said  Greece  consisted  of  a  pen- 
insula which  had  extending  out  from  it  many  smaller 
peninsulas,  something  like  the  palm  of  one's  hand  with 
the  stubby  fingers  extending  from  it  ?  If  we  look  at  the 
map  of  Europe,  we  see  that  in  this  respect  Europe  is  a 
large  pattern  of  Greece,  for  it  is  in  fact  only  a  large 
peninsula  of  Asia  and,  in  turn,  has  many  smaller  penin- 
sulas extending  from  it.  Looking  at  the  map  of  Europe 
as  a  whole,  you  see  on  the  south,  projecting  into  the 
calm,  sunny  Mediterranean  Sea,  Greece,  Italy  and 
Spain,  of  which  we  have  already  learned  so  much  ;  ex- 
tending out  into  the  more  stormy  seas  of  the  North 
are  the  Scandinavian  peninsula  and  the  peninsula  of 
Denmark. 

Europe  is  not  large  when  compared  with  Asia  and 
Africa,  but  it  almost  equals  either  one  of  them  in  the 
amount  of  seacoast  it  has.  This  is  because  there  are 
so  many  arms  of  the  sea  extending  far  into  the  land 
and  so  many  peninsulas  running  out  into  the  sea.  These 
help  to  break  up  the  land  into  many  divisions,  and  you 
have  already  seen,  in  the  third  and  fourth  grades,  how 
one  people  lived  in  Greece,  another  in  Italy,  and  still 
another  in  Spain,  each  of  these  very  unlike  the  others 
until  they  learned  to  know  their  neighbor  states. 

Not  far  from  the  center  of  Europe  are  the  Alps,  the 

238 


THE   TEUTONIC   CHILDREN   OF  THE  WOODS      239 

highest  of  all  the  European  mountains.  From  these 
central  highlands  many  smaller  ranges  run  out  in  every 
direction,  making  a  slope  to  every  side.  You  have 
already  seen  how  the  Apennines,  extending  down 
through  Italy,  form  the  backbone  of  that  country.  The 
Pyrenees  extend  to  the  west  and  cut  off  the  peninsula 
of  Spain  from  the  rest  of  Europe.  Mountains  also 
extend  northward,  dividing  Germany  into  many  parts. 
Others  extend  to  the  east,  run  down  into  Greece  and 
break  up  that  country  into  many  separate  little  states. 
In  fact,  in  thus  being  greatly  cut  up  by  mountains, 
Europe  is  much  like  Greece,  just  as  she  is  in  way  of 
peninsulas. 

Rising  in  the  great  mountain  center  of  Europe  are 
many  rivers.  The  three  most  important  ones  are  the 
Danube,  the  Rhine  and  the  Rhone,  all  of  which  begin 
at  no  great  distance  from  one  another,  but  each  flows  in 
a  different  direction.  The  Danube,  which  is  the  largest, 
flows  southeast  and  empties  its  waters  into  the  Black 
Sea  ;  the  Rhine  flows  to  the  northwest,  between  cliffs, 
through  mountain  valleys,  out  over  the  plain,  and  reaches 
the  North  Sea ;  the  Rhone  flows  southwest  and,  cutting 
the  Pyrenees  from  the  Alps,  at  last  reaches  the  western 
Mediterranean.  Many  smaller  rivers  tumble  down  from 
the  slopes  into  these  larger  streams,  so  that  Europe  is 
abundantly  supplied  with  water  for  pasture  and  boats. 

Thus  you  see,  no  doubt,  that  Europe,  cut  up  by  its 
mountains,  with  its  many  river  valleys,  is  quite  different, 
for  example,  from  Egypt  with  its  single  river  and  its 
one  fruitful  plain.  In  Egypt  all  the  people,  since  they 
lived  in  the  same  valley  and  used  the  same  river  for 
passing  from  one  place  to  another  and  lived  on  the  same 


240  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

kind  of  soil,  acted  and  thought  in  very  much  the  same 
way,  thus  making  one  united  country  which  could  easily 
be  ruled  by  a  single  king. 

Over  in  Greece,  where  the  country  was  cut  up  into 
many  valleys,  shut  off  from  one  another  by  the  moun- 
tains, we  saw  in  the  third  grade  how  hard  it  was  for  the 
people  to  act  and  think  and  work  together,  even  when 
there  was  great  danger,  as  in  the  time  when  Darius  and 
Xerxes  were  driven  back  from  Marathon  and  Salamis. 
The  mountains,  too,  made  it  easy  for  the  people  of  one 
valley  to.  defend  themselves  against  those  of  another; 
so  each  little  tribe  became  quite  independent,  and  when- 
ever it  could  take  advantage  of  its  neighbors,  it  would 
rarely  fail  to  do  so. 

Now  Europe,  with  its  center  occupied  by  so  many 
great  mountains  and  divided  by  many  rivers,  afforded 
just  such  a  chance  to  the  people  scattered  over  it.  We 
have  already  seen  how  hard  it  was  for  Hannibal  to 
cross  the  Pyrenees,  and  to  take  his  elephants  over  the 
Rhone,  and  at  last,  to  climb  the  Alps  to  get  into  Italy. 
In  the  same  way  it  was  just  as  hard  for  the  Romans  to 
get  out  of  Italy  into  France,  or  into  any  of  the  states 
north  of  the  Alps,  —  yes,  even  harder,  for  the  Roman 
side  of  the  Alps  was  steeper  than  the  other.  Now  all 
of  these  things  helped  to  make  Europe  develop  into 
many  states  and  governments  instead  of  just  one,  as  we, 
for  example,  in  the  United  States  have. 

When  Caesar  crossed  the  Alps  and  conquered  the 
Gauls  in  France,  he  found  in  many  places  large  fields 
of  grain  planted  and  carefully  tended  by  the  people 
who  lived  there.  The  country  was  quite  level  and  open, 
so  Caesar  and   his    Roman    legions   with    little  trouble 


THE    TEUTONIC   CHILDREN   OF   THE   WOODS      24 1 

succeeded  in  conquering  the  Gauls  and  in  making  them 
a  part  of  the  great  nation  of  Rome. 

Sometime  later  Drusus,  another  Roman,  crossed  the 
Rhine,  aiming  to  conquer  the  people  there  as  Caesar  had 
conquered  the  Gauls.  He  did  not  succeed  so  well,  for 
he  found  a  cold  country  hard  to  winter  in  and  a  people 
quite  different  from  those  which  Caesar  found  in  Gaul. 

North  of  the  Alps  are  many  smaller  mountains. 
Near  the  North  and  the  Baltic  seas  lies  a  large  low 
plain.  Between  the  mountains  and  the  low  plain  are 
many  hills.  This  whole  country  of  mountains,  hills, 
rivers  and  plain  long  ago  was  covered  by  vast  forests 
filled  with  great  marshes  and  only  here  and  there  an 
open  meadow.  Here,  as  already  said,  about  two  thou- 
sand years  ago,  came  Drusus  to  conquer  our  ancestors, 
the  Germans,  or  Teutons,  as  they  are  often  called. 

He  found  the  Germans  to  be  a  large,  fierce,  powerful, 
white-skinned,  blue-eyed,  yellow-haired  race  living  in 
this  bleak,  cold  forest.  They  had  no  cities  and  few 
farms  but  spent  their  time  in  hunting  the  wild  boar, 
elk,  bear,  wolf  and  buffalo  for  their  food.  In  their 
struggles  with  these  wild  animals  and  in  fighting  among 
themselves  for  the  possession  of  this  hunting  ground, 
they  became  brave  and  fierce. 

There  were  then  no  roads  through  the  forests,  no 
bridges  over  the  streams,  and  for  many  months  each 
year  the  rivers  were  frozen  so  deeply  that  whole  armies 
could  cross  them  on  the  ice.  The  winters  were  keen 
and  long;  swamps  and  forest  made  the  climate  far 
more  severe  than  it  is  in  that  country  now ;  there  was 
then  more  ice  and  snow,  more  fog  and  rain. 

As  a  country  is,  so  to  a  large  degree  are  its  people. 


242  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

The  bitter  cold  made  the  Germans  hardy,  fierce  and 
brave.  It  made  them  restless,  savage,  passionate  and 
daring.  They  loved  the  freedom  of  a  life  in  the  woods 
and  by  overcoming  its  difficulties  learned  to  rely  upon 
themselves. 

This  cold  and  wet  climate  of  the  forest  home  kept  the 
Germans  back  at  first.  It  kept  them  from  making  fine 
statues,  from  erecting  beautiful  buildings  like  the  Par- 
thenon, from  writing  beautiful  poetry  like  the  "  Iliad  " 
and  the  "  Odyssey,"  from  being  philosophers  like  Socrates 
and  Plato,  or  great  statesmen  like  Pericles  and  Caesar ; 
but  by  overcoming  its  hardships  they  gained  a  manly  in- 
dependence which  their  neighbors  in  the  sunny  south- 
land never  possessed,  and  finally  became  one  of  the 
finest,  bravest  peoples  in  the  world. 

Over  their  huge  bodies,  even  in  this  cold  country,  they 
wore  only  a  sort  of  short  cloak  made  from  the  skin  of 
some  animal  or  from  the  wool  plucked  out  of  the  sheep's 
back,  for  they  had,  in  the  early  days  when  they  wandered 
through  the  woods,  not  yet  learned  to  shear  the  sheep. 
They  platted  it  also  into  a  kind  of  cloth,  for  they  as  yet 
knew  nothing  of  weaving.  On  their  heads  they  wore  a 
cap  of  fur  decorated  with  boars'  tusks  or  horns  of  cattle. 
They  too  had  also  a  kind  of  rude  shoe  made  of  skins. 
The  women  dressed  much  like  the  men,  while  the  chil- 
dren often,  in  spite  of  the  cold,  wore  very  scant  clothing. 

The  dwelling  house  —  if  there  was  one  —  was  a  rude 
hut  made  of  logs,  filled  in  with  sticks  and  mud,  and 
covered  with  a  roof  of  straw,  or  maybe  reeds  from  the 
neighboring  marsh.  In  the  roof  a  hole  was  left  through 
which  the  smoke  could  escape. 

In  winter,  to  keep  out  the  cold  weather,  they  often 


THE   TEUTONIC   CHILDREN   OF   THE   WOODS        243 

lived  in  houses  hollowed  out  of  the  ground.  These 
were  usually  not  very  clean,  so  for  the  sake  of  health 
the  people  grew  to  be  fond  of  baths.  A  hot  bath 
especially  delighted  them,  and  in  summer  time  they 
used  the  streams  freely.  A  Roman  historian  tells  an 
interesting  story  of  a  tribe  who,  as  they  were  pursuing 
an  enemy,  accidentally  came  to  a  place  where  there 
were  many  hot  springs.  These  so  much  delighted 
them  that  they  stopped  several  days  to  bathe  to  their 
hearts'  content. 

In  summer  time  their  rude  wagons  were  fitted  into 
a  kind  of  house,  for  to  these  they  could  easily  hitch 
their  oxen  and  move  from  place  to  place  when  pasture 
land,  hunting  and  fishing  gave  out.  They  had  not  yet 
learned  to  use  stone  and  mortar  for  building  houses  or 
for  tiles  for  the  roofs.  But  we  need  not  wonder  at  this 
when  we  remember  how  restless  they  were,  and  how 
little  they  cared  for  settled  homes. 

The  German  men  had  quite  a  different  feeling  toward 
their  families  from  any  people  we  have  thus  far  studied. 
Nowhere  among  Greeks  or  Romans  do  we  find  so  much 
respect  shown  for  women  as  here.  Each  man  had  but 
one  wife,  and  he  remained  faithful  to  her  as  she  to  him. 
She  supplied  his  wants  and  often  when  he  went  to  bat- 
tle would  go  with  him.  If  he  was  killed  she  sometimes 
took  his  place  in  the  fight,  and  usually  chose  to  die 
rather  than  return  without  him.  The  Romans  were 
astonished  at  the  pure  family  life  they  found  among  the 
Germans,  and  no  people  we  have  studied  thus  far  have 
done  so  much  to  beautify  and  ennoble  the  home  as  they. 

The  house  had  very  little  furniture.  The  German 
hunter  slept  stretched  on  a  bench,  or  on  a  bed  made  of 


244  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

bearskin  thrown  on  the  floor  in  a  corner,  and  it  was 
often  late  on  the  following  day  when  he  arose,  and,  after 
taking  his  bath,  if  it  was  possible,  went  off  to  attend  to 
the  duties  of  the  morning.  Maybe  it  was  some  feast 
or  hunt  that  claimed  his  attention ;  maybe  some  public 
assembly  of  the  freemen  of  the  tribe  to  which  he  be- 
longed ;  but  it  was  almost  never  manual  labor,  or  care 
for  farm  or  cattle. 

Among  some  of  the  German  tribes  there  were  vil- 
lages, but  even  then  the  houses  were  rude  affairs  and 
stood  far  apart,  and  the  people  had  no  land  which  they 
could  call  their  own.  All  the  land  about  the  village 
belonged  to  the  tribe  and  was  called  its  mark.  This 
was  divided  into  three  parts.  First,  there  was  a  space 
where  the  houses  were  built.  Next,  there  was  a  part 
where  the  ground  was  cleared  and  might  be  cultivated. 
Each  year,  if  any  farming  was  to  be  done,  the  village 
chief  gave  to  every  free  man  a  small  piece  of  ground 
where  he  might  raise  what  he  wished  for  food.  But 
these  fierce  Teutonic  ancestors  of  ours  loved  mostly  to 
hunt  and  to  fight,  and  not  to  farm.  They  left  that  to 
the  men  too  old  to  fight,  to  the  women,  the  children 
and  the  slaves.  These  would  raise  the  barley  and  wheat 
out  of  which  the  bread  and  beer  were  made.  The 
slaves  were  prisoners  taken  in  war  and  had  iron 
collars  tightly  fitted  round  their  necks,  and  as  a  sign 
that  they  had  lost  their  freedom  their  hair  was  cut 
short.  They  were  well  treated  and  were  never  very 
numerous  among  the  early  Germans,  for  there  was  little 
work  to  be  done. 

Every  village  had  also  a  third  tract  of  land,  which 
furnished    pasture    for    the    horses,    cattle   and    hogs. 


THE   TEUTONIC   CHILDREN    OF   THE   WOODS        245 

Often  this  was  woodland,  where  the  hogs  could  live 
on  the  acorns  and  nuts.  The  German  loved  his  forest 
life  too  well  to  care  for  land.  Sometimes  he  owned 
large  herds  of  cattle  and  droves  of  hogs,  but  these 
could  easily  be  driven  from  place  to  place  as  his  fancy- 
suited. 

With  such  an  idea  of  life  one  can  easily  see  that  the 
Germans  would  not  feel  the  need  of  belonging  to  a 
great  state  ruled  by  some  strong  power  that  could 
protect  their  property  and  their  lives.  Indeed,  in  the 
dense  forest  and  mountainous  region  it  would  have 
been  very  difficult  to  make  a  large  strong  state,  and 
especially  so  since  every  German  felt  that  he  himself 
was  able  to  protect  his  own  life  and  scanty  possessions. 

A  number  of  families  living  near  one  another  and 
using  the  same  hunting  ground,  made  up  a  tribe  and 
for  their  chief  they  chose  their  best  hunter  or  their 
bravest  warrior,  just  as  when  you  play  a  game  you 
select  as  leader  the  one  who  best  understands  it. 
After  having  made  the  choice,  they  placed  him  on  a 
shield  and  raised  him  up  over  their  heads.  From  that 
time  on  they  followed  him  in  war  and  on  the  hunt. 
Every  warrior  tried  to  win  by  loyalty  and  bravery  the 
greatest  love  and  respect  of  the  chief ;  and  every  chief 
tried  by  his  bravery  to  win  the  greatest  number  of 
followers.  In  the  hour  of  danger  it  was  shameful 
for  the  men  to  allow  the  chief  to  be  braver  than  they, 
or  for  the  chief  not  to  equal  the  men  in  bravery. 
When  plunder  was  captured,  each  soldier  received  as 
much  as  the  chief  himself,  —  all  were  regarded  as  equal. 

The  chief  himself  could  not  decide  matters  for  the 
tribe.      Every  freeman  had  a  right  to  help.      Out  in 


246  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

the  forest,  under  a  tree,  or  on  top  of  a  neighboring  hill, 
all  the  freemen  assembled  bearing  their  arms.  Sitting 
on  the  ground  or  on  the  logs  and  stumps,  as  the  great 
ox-horn  cups  of  liquor  were  passed  from  hand  to 
hand,  they  discussed  measures  of  grave  importance 
and  adopted  them  by  a  ringing  clash  of  weapons,  or 
rejected  them  with  cries  and  groans  until  the  very 
forest  rang. 

Here  they  decided  questions  of  peace  and  war  and 
righted  wrongs.  Here  fathers  brought  their  sons 
when  they  became  of  the  proper  age,  and  after  giving 
them  a  spear  and  shield  they  too  became  members 
of  the  assembly,  or  moot,  as  they  called  it,  and  from 
that  time  on  they  were  freemen.  If  in  some  future  battle 
the  spear  and  shield  should  be  lost,  the  right  to  be  a 
freeman,  too,  was  lost,  and  this  was  the  most  disgrace- 
ful thing  that  could  happen  to  any  one. 

You  would  no  doubt  like  to  know  how  the  Germans 
fought  in  battle,  since  they  were  able  to  defeat  Drusus 
and  the  Roman  legions.  Now,  I  suspect  the  dense 
forests  and  great  swamps  hindered  the  legions  who 
did  not  know  the  country  well  and  greatly  helped  the 
Germans  win.  Yet  the  Germans  were  brave  as  well 
as  fierce,  for  by  and  by  we  shall  hear  how  they  no 
longer  merely  drove  the  Romans  back  when  they 
came  to  conquer  their  country,  but  how  they  them- 
selves crossed  the  Alps  and  met  the  Romans  in  Italy, 
and  at  last  actually  did  what  Hannibal  so  long  wished 
to  do,  captured  Rome  itself.  But  that  was  many  years 
later  than  when  we  first  meet  them,  and  they  had  by 
that  time  learned  from  the  Romans  quite  a  good  deal 
more  of  war  than  they  knew  in  very  early  time. 


THE   TEUTONIC   CHILDREN   OF   THE  WOODS     247 

How  strange  their  way  of  fighting  must  have  seemed 
to  the  well-drilled  Romans !  Impatient  of  delay  and 
armed  only  with  a  long  spear  tipped  with  a  sharp, 
narrow  iron  point  and  a  shield  held  in  front  made  of 
platted  willows  or  tough  skin,  and  singing  a  war  song 
which  told  of  the  bravery  of  their  fathers,  they  rushed 
into  the  battle.  They  had  had  no  drill  and  training 
such  as  made  the  Roman  legions  powerful,  but  entered 
the  contest  so  thoroughly  in  earnest  that  they  won  by 
their  very  bravery  rather  than  by  skill.  To  be  a 
coward  was  to  them  the  greatest  possible  disgrace, 
but  a  brave  man  was  the  greatest  favorite  of  the  gods. 
A  life  spent  in  fighting,  a  glorious  death  on  the  battle- 
field, was  to  them  the  way  to  honor  and  to  heaven. 

Woden,  or  Odin,  as  he  was  often  called,  was 
their  god  of  battle  and  victory.  It  was  he  who  pro- 
tected them  if  they  were  brave.  They  thought  that 
he  was  a  tall,  vigorous  man,  clad  in  a  suit  of  gray  with  a 
blue  hood,  and  that  over  his  strong  body  he  wore  a  wide 
blue  mantle  spotted  with  gray,  —  the  colors  of  the 
clouds  and  sky,  —  for  Odin,  too,  was  the  god  of  the 
sky.  Often  when  the  battle  waged  hottest,  Odin,  as 
they  believed,  fought  in  their  midst  with  his  spear 
and  shield,  which  never  failed  to  conquer.  After  the 
battle  was  over,  Odin  sent  his  maidens  to  choose  from 
the  battlefield  the  bravest  of  the  dead  warriors  whom 
they  bore  on  swift  horses  over  the  rainbow  bridge  into 
the  great  hall  Valhalla,  Odin's  heaven-home.  Odin 
met  the  bravest  at  the  door  to  bid  them  welcome. 
The  hope  of  receiving  this  welcome  and  the  promise 
of  dwelling  in  Odin's  beloved  presence  from  day  to 
day  and  of  sharing  with  him  the  pleasure  of  the  great 


248  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

feast  which  he  had  prepared  for  them,  gave  the  war- 
riors the  greatest  courage  and  made  them  long  to  die 
on  the  battlefield.  They  especially  set  apart  one  day 
of  the  week  as  sacred  to  him  and  called  it  Woden's 
day ;  and  we  have  changed  it  but  slightly  for  we  still 
call  it  Wednesday. 

But  Odin  was  not  the  only  god  they  had.  There 
were  many  others.  One  important  one  was  his  son 
Thor.  He  was  the  god  of  thunder  and  lightning  and 
always  carried  with  him  a  huge  hammer.  As  he  drove 
his  chariot  drawn  by  goats  through  the  skies  the  rum- 
bling of  the  wheels  caused  the  thunder,  and  the  hurling 
of  his  huge  hammer  at  his  enemies,  the  lightning.  He 
it  was  who  kept  the  storm  in  check  and  drove  back  the 
fog  and  mist  and  cold  weather  (for  these  were  his 
enemies),  and  thus  protected  the  herds  of  cattle  and 
droVes  of  hogs.  For  this  the  people  liked  to  worship 
him  as  well  as  Odin,  and  so  they  named  one  day  Thor's 
day,  and  that  is  how  we  come  to  have  Thursday. 

Besides  these  there  was  Frey  (Fri),  who  gave  them 
peace  and  prosperity,  who  brought  them  joy  and  sun- 
shine. His  sister  Freya  (Fri'a)  was  the  goddess  of  love 
and  beauty,  and  it  is  in  her  remembrance  that  we  have 
Friday. 

Tyr,  or  Tui,  as  some  called  him,  another  son  of  Odin, 
helped  his  father,  so  he,  too,  was  god  of  war  and  vic- 
tory. Here  is  a  little  story  which  shows  how  brave  they 
thought  him  to  be,  and  you  can  see  from  it  that  the 
Germans  believed  that  to  be  godlike  meant  to  be  brave. 

"  The  great  Fenris  wolf  was  daily  growing  larger, 
stronger  and  fiercer,  so  the  gods  in  fear  assembled  to 
plan  how  they  might  dispose  of  him.     They  all  agreed 


THE   TEUTONIC   CHILDREN    OF   THE   WOODS     249 

it  would  be  wrong  to  kill  him,  so  they  decided  to  get  a 
strong  chain  and  bind  him  to  a  great  rock.  But  the 
wolf  suspected  that  all  was  not  right,  so  he  refused  to 
let  them  put  the  chain  on  his  neck.  At  last,  however, 
he  agreed  they  might  do  so  if  first  one  of  them  would 
consent  to  put  his  hand  in  the  wolf's  mouth  as  a  pledge 
of  good  faith  on  their  part.  None  of  the  gods  except 
Tyr  would  agree  to  this,  for  they  well  knew  that  when 
once  the  wolf  found  out  he  was  tied  he  would  close  his 
mouth  and  bite  off  the  hand.  In  this  way  Tyr  lost  his 
hand."  And  the  people  gave  the  name  of  Tui's  day  to 
another  day  of  the  week  in  honor  of  this  brave  god. 

Thus  you  see  the  German  gods  were  brave  like  those 
of  Greece  and  Rome.  In  Greece  especially  the  people 
made  statues  of  them.  Do  you  not  remember  the 
golden-ivory  ones  of  Zeus  and  Athena  which  Phidias 
made  ?  The  Greeks  also,  you  remember,  built  beautiful 
temples  like  the  Parthenon  for  their  gods.  The  Ger- 
mans did  not  yet  know  how  to  carve  statues  or  how  to 
build  beautiful  buildings.  They  were  content  to  think 
of  their  gods  as  helping  them  fight  in  battle  and  to 
worship  them  under  the  spreading  branches  of  some 
forest  tree.  Thus,  "the  groves  were  God's  first  tem- 
ples "  for  our  early  Teutonic  ancestors. 

The  time  of  which  we  are  talking  is  more  than  four 
centuries  after  Pericles  and  the  "Golden  Age"  of 
Athens.  Athens  was  no  farther  distant  from  the  Ger- 
mans than  Boston  is  from  Indianapolis,  and  Rome  was 
nearer  to  them  than  one  day's  ride  on  a  railroad  train 
now.  Does  it  not  seem  strange,  then,  to  think  that  the 
Germans  had  no  books,  and  had  not  yet  learned  to  read 
and  write  ?     They  had  only  a  very  rude  form  of  letters, 


250  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

called  runes.  These  they  drew  on  bark  and  we  should 
have  thought  they  looked  more  like  pictures  than  letters. 
Only  the  priests  could  read  them,  and  they  were 
thought  to  be  magical  things.  None  of  the  common 
people  could  either  read  or  write. 

But  you  will  not  think  it  strange  after  all  I  have  told 
you,  that  they  had  many  songs  of  brave  deeds  of  the 
heroes  and  gods.  These  the  bards  sang  much  as  Homer 
had  sung  to  the  old  Greeks  before  they  had  learned  to 
read  and  write,  more  than  a  thousand  years  before  this 
time.  One  of  these  was  the  song  of  the  Nie'be-lung'en, 
and  another  tells  the  story  of  Be'o-wulf.  Some  day 
you  will  read  these,  for  when  the  Germans  learned  to 
write,  they  wrote  them  down  and  sung  them  as  the 
Greeks  wrote  down  and  sung  the  songs  of  Homer. 

Many  of  the  words  we  use  are  the  same  as  those 
which  the  Germans  used  so  long  ago.  This  is  especially 
true  of  those  which  tell  of  home,  father,  mother  and 
the  family  life.  But  it  is  not  strange  that  we  have  held 
on  to  these  words,  for  as  I  have  already  told  you,  these 
brave  Teutonic  warriors  were  our  ancestors  and  in  keep- 
ing the  words  they  used  we  have  kept  the  remembrance 
of  the  purity  of  their  home. 

In  the  sixth-grade  work,  we  shall  see  the  Teutonic 
warriors  and  hunters  who  at  present  seem  to  care  for 
nothing  but  hunting  and  warring,  become  just  as  anxious 
for  books  and  pictures,  fine  houses  and  land,  as  their 
neighbors,  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  had  been.  In  the 
meantime  we  shall  see  them  gradually  losing  their 
fierce,  warlike  habits,  their  love  for  drinking  and  gam- 
bling, at  the  same  time  keeping  their  manly  independence 
and  pure  family  life.     In  order  to  understand  how  this 


THE  TEUTONIC   CHILDREN   OF  THE  WOODS     25 1 

came  about,  you  must  see  how  these  Germans  went  south 
through  the  passes  of  the  Alps,  finally  overcame  Rome, 
and  gradually'took  up  the  life,  language  and  literature 
of  the  Romans. 

At  one  time  the  brave  Roman  armies  conquered  all 
others  sent  against  them.  But  in  later  years  Rome 
changed  greatly.  As  the  Romans  grew  luxurious  the 
people  no  longer  cared  to  leave  their  homes  and  plows 
to  fight  for  their  country  as  Cincinnatus  had  done.  In 
their  conquests  they  had  carried  to  their  city  the 
immense  wealth  of  foreign  nations  and  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  slaves.  With  this  wealth  and  these  slaves 
they  had  built  splendid  mansions,  in  which  the  nights 
were  given  to  feasting  and  revelry,  the  days  to  sleep  and 
idle  sports.  In  the  loveliest  gardens  in  the  world,  revels 
took  place  which  would  have  put  a  savage  to  shame. 
In  splendid  banquet  halls,  feasting  went  to  lengths  that 
would  have  put  one  more  in  mind  of  a  beast  than  of  men. 
Slaves  thronged  every  palace  and  farm  in  large  num- 
bers. Four  hundred  often  served  in  one  household. 
Four  thousand  belonged  to  the  average  estate  of  the 
nobles.  A  Roman  man  of  wealth  depended  on  his 
slaves  for  everything ;  they  must  wash  him,  dress  him, 
wait  upon  him,  read  to  him,  sing  to  him,  bear  him 
through  the  streets  and  supply  his  every  want.  The 
Romans  grew  to  be  unfit  for  any  task  which  required  a 
strong,  robust  manhood.  They  enjoyed  so  much  their 
life  in  the  theaters,  the  circuses,  the  baths,  the  beautiful 
villas  in  the  country  and  at  the  seashore  that  they  no 
longer  cared  for  or  were  fit  to  go  to  the  army.  Instead, 
they  preferred  to  hire  soldiers  to  do  their  fighting. 

Now,  the  best  soldiers  in  the  world  at  this  time,  from 


252  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

200  to  500  B.C.,  were  the  brave  Teutons,  who,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  had  kept  the  legions  from  conquering  the 
forests  beyond  the  Alps  and  Rhine.  These  children  of 
the  woods  were  free  to  do  as  they  pleased,  so  it  often 
happened  that  they  hired  out  in  large  numbers  to  fight 
for  Roman  pay.  It  did  not  matter  much  to  them,  even 
if  they  were  asked  to  fight  their  brother  tribes.  They 
earned  their  pay,  saw  the  world,  enjoyed  fighting,  and 
then  often  returned  to  fill  the  ears  of  their  kinsmen  with 
the  wonderful  story  of  the  glories  south  of  the  Alps, 
and  especially  of  those  in  Rome. 

As  the  Teutons  became  acquainted  with  the  Romans 
they  began  to  carry  on  trade  with  them,  and  soon  they 
came  to  want  many  things  which  the  Romans  had. 
These  traders,  besides  bringing  their  packs,  brought  the 
story  of  the  riches  of  Rome,  —  the  story  of  fertile  lands, 
of  boundless  wealth  and  of  men  who  lived  in  luxurious 
cities  and  cared  more  for  their  own  enjoyment  than  for 
their  country's  welfare. 

Sometimes  prisoners  captured  by  the  Romans  escaped 
and  returned  to  their  German  kinsmen,  and  they  too 
brought  the  same  story  of  Roman  riches.  Thus,  little 
by  little,  the  German  warriors  began  to  long  to  possess 
the  wealth,  the  homes  and  the  comforts  which  they  saw 
in  the  sunny  lands  of  the  South. 

The  Teutons  were  rapidly  increasing  in  number  in 
their  dense  forests.  As  long  as  they  hunted  for  a  liv- 
ing, they  needed  a  large  country  with  a  sparse  population. 
When  the  number  increased  they  found  it  impossible  to 
gain  a  living  in  this  way ;  so  they  must  either  learn  to 
clear  the  forests  or  else  find  new  hunting  grounds.  The 
larger  and  stronger  tribes,  in  order  to  enlarge  their  hunt- 


THE   TEUTONIC   CHILDREN   OF   THE   WOODS    253 

ing  grounds,  forced  others  to  move  away,  and  soon  some 
of  these  were  crowded  over  the  Roman  frontier  down 
into  Italy.  Once  there,  they  saw  how  easy  it  was  to 
seize  the  wealth  of  the  luxurious  Roman  people  and 
with  the  plunder  live  in  ease  and  plenty. 

Several  tribes  that  had  once  lived  on  the  shores  of 
the  Baltic  Sea  had  slowly  followed  the  river  valleys 
southward  in  search  of  new  lands.  They  did  not  go 
rapidly.  Perhaps  they  moved  fifty  or  a  hundred  miles  in 
the  lifetime  of  a  man ;  but  in  this  way  they  at  length 
came  to  the  frontier  and  settled  on  the  Danube  River 
and  near  the  Black  Sea.  These  were  the  Goths,  and 
those  that  settled  for  a  time  on  the  Danube  were  now 
called  the  West  Goths,  those  farther  to  the  east,  the 
East  Goths. 

These  people  did  not  come  as  an  army  but  came  in 
whole  tribes  —  men,  women  and  children.  They  loaded 
their  scanty  possessions  in  their  wagon-houses  and  drove 
their  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs  before  them,  searching  for 
new  pastures  and  richer  hunting  grounds.  This  move- 
ment to  the  south  was  somewhat  like  that  of  the  early 
settlers,  who  came  from  the  eastern  states  out  to  Indiana 
and  Ohio,  for  example,  with  their  goods  and  families  in 
wagons,  and  brought  their  cattle  and  hogs  to  begin  life 
in  the  new  West. 

When  the  German  people  started  southward,  they 
consisted  of  many  separate,  independent  tribes,  each 
ruled  by  its  own  chief ;  but  as  time  went  by  and  they 
had  common  interests  and  dangers,  they  more  and  more 
united  into  large  bodies,  and  soon  several  small  tribes 
would  unite  under  one  leader  and  call  him  king. 

On   the   frontier  they  had  no  peace.      Other   tribes 


254  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

pressed  from  behind,  and  in  front  the  Romans  lost  no 
opportunity  to  drive  them  back.  At  first  Rome  was 
able  to  do  this,  for  there  were  many  German  soldiers 
in  her  army.  But  at  last  there  arose  among  the  West 
Goths  a  great  leader  named  Al'a-ric.  He  did  not 
feel  satisfied  with  the  conditions  of  life  on  the  Danube, 
so  his  tribe  decided  to  move  on  into  Italy.  On  they 
went  again,  much  as  before,  taking  with  them  all  they 
had.  What  a  sight  it  must  have  been  to  see  these  rude, 
half-civilized  people  dressed  in  skins,  moving  in  their 
rude  ox-carts !  There  were  as  many  men,  women  and 
children  as  would  make  a  large  city,  —  perhaps  from 
one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand. 

At  first  they  were  driven  back  by  the  Romans ;  but 
trying  again,  they  reached  the  city  of  Rome,  and  after 
a  siege  they  succeeded  in  capturing  it.  Then  began 
the  plundering,  which  lasted  a  whole  week.  They  car- 
ried away  many  rich  treasures  but  did  not  destroy  the 
city.  This  was  four  hundred  and  ten  years  after  the 
birth  of  Christ. 

The  fact  that  they  did  not  destroy  the  city  shows  that 
the  Teutons  had  somewhat  changed.  They  were  no 
longer  quite  so  rude  as  we  saw  them  up  in  the  German 
forests.  In  their  long  march  and  many  dealings  with 
the  Romans  they  had  become  half  Roman  themselves. 
Alaric  was  no  longer  a  leader  of  a  wild  race  eager  only 
for  war,  but  he  was  king  of  a  great  tribe  and  conqueror 
of  Rome  looking  for  a  settled  home  for  his  people. 

But  they  had  not  yet  learned  to  live  in  cities,  so  it  is 
not  strange  they  did  not  care  to  live  in  the  captured 
city.  It  is  quite  hard  to  say  what  they  intended  to  do 
next,    for  soon  Alaric   died.     We  must  remember  him 


THE   TEUTONIC   CHILDREN   OF   THE  WOODS    255 

not  so  much  for  having  captured  Rome,  as  for  having 
pointed  out  the  way  southward  into  Italy,  which  so 
many  others  of  his  race  were  to  follow.  His  people  did 
not  remain  in  Italy  long,  but  wandered  on  until  they 
crossed  the  Pyrenees  into  Spain,  and  there  their  travels 
at  last  came  to  an  end.  Here  they  built  homes,  and  set 
up  a  large  West  Gothic  state,  which  lasted  for  three 
hundred  years,  till  it  was  overthrown  by  the  Arab  Moors 
in  711  a.d. 

When  the  Goths  began  to  enter  Italy,  all  the  legions 
of  Rome  along  the  frontier  were  called  together  to 
drive  them  back.  Other  German  tribes  were  not  slow 
in  finding  out  that  the  Goths  were  moving  southward, 
and  they  too  began  to  seek  for  new  lands.  The  Van- 
dals crossed  the  Rhine  on  the  ice  and  passing  south- 
ward reached  Spain  before  the  Goths  did.  By  the 
coming  of  the  Goths,  they  were  pushed  over  into 
Africa,  where  they  rebuilt  Carthage  and  made  it  a  flour- 
ishing city.  The  Burgundians,  following  them,  moved 
down  into  the  rich  Rhone  valley  where  they  set  up  a 
government  which  lasted  a  hundred  years.  Another 
large  tribe,  called  the  Franks,  spread  out  over  the  country 
about  the  mouth  of  the  Rhine,  and  over  through  the 
forests  almost  to  the  Pyrenees.  By  and  by  we  shall  hear 
more  of  the  Franks. 

It  was  at  this  time  also  that  the  Angles,  the  Saxons, 
the  Jutes  and  other  Teutonic  tribes  crossed  the  English 
Channel  and  began  to  conquer  the  Britons  in  England, 
and  to  plant  German  or  Teutonic  ideas  in  that  country. 
Many  others  of  the  German  tribes  left  their  native 
homes  in  the  North,  and  wandered  southward  and  west- 
ward over  Europe.     After  a  while  the  East  Goths  left 


256  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

their  new  homes  on  the  Black  Sea,  and  following  the 
path  of  Alaric,  the  West  Goth,  spread  another  great 
layer  of  Teutonic  life  over  Italy,  and  finally  in  476  a.d. 
took  the  tottering  throne  away  from  the  last  emperor 
who  ruled  at  Rome. 

This  moving  about  of  the  tribes  caused  most  of  them 
to  give  up  their  little  local  governments  and  moot  courts, 
and  soon  each  of  them  was  ruled  by  a  king.  Sometimes 
the  king  gave  some  part  of  the  governing  over  to  his 
friends,  and  in  return  they  promised  to  fight  for  him 
when  called  upon.  This  is  the  beginning  of  Feudalism, 
which  we  shall  soon  study  more  about. 

As  the  Germans  spread  out  over  all  of  western  Europe 
they  brought  with  them  many  good  things  which  the 
conquered  people  readily  took  up,  and  in  turn  the  Ger- 
mans were  greatly  changed  by  the  ideas  of  the  Roman 
people  whom  they  had  conquered.  They  gave  new  life 
and  energy  not  only  to  Italy  but  to  the  whole  of  Europe. 
In  return  they  received  many  ideas  from  Old  Rome ; 
they  learned  after  a  while  to  like  the  books  written  by  the 
Greeks  and  Romans ;  they  learned  likewise  the  Roman 
laws  and  customs,  and  above  all  they  became  Christians. 

Many  self-sacrificing  men  went  out  through  the 
forests  among  them  to  spread  the  gospel,  and  monas- 
teries sprang  up  throughout  the  country,  in  which 
self-sacrificing  missionaries  lived  and  worked.  These 
missionaries  not  only  carried  the  Bible  to  the  barbarians 
but  also  Latin  books  and  the  Latin  language ;  of  their 
work  also  we  shall  soon  learn  much  more. 

In  all  this  study  about  the  early  German,  or  Teuton, 
we  have,  as  I  have  already  told  you,  been  studying  our 
immediate  ancestors.     We  have  studied  no  other  people 


THE   TEUTONIC   CHILDREN   OF  THE  WOODS    257 

in  which  each  man  loved  to  rule,  think  and  act  for  him- 
self so  much  as  was  the  case  with  every  free  man  among 
our  Teutonic  forefathers.  Many  of  the  seeds  of  liberty 
which  were  planted  and  developed  by  these  children  in 
the  German  woods  have  grown  and  ripened  till  we  in 
America  are  enjoying  the  fruit.  How  this  fruit  of  liberty 
was  ripened  and  finally  carried  to  America  we  shall  see 
as  we  follow  the  stream  on  as  it  widens  in  our  study 
in  the  upper  grades. 

References 

Church:  The  Beginnings  of  the  Middle  Ages;  Longmans,  N.Y. 

Gummere:  Germanic  Origins;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 

Oman:  The  Dark  Ages;  Macmillan  Co.,  N.Y. 

Gibbon:  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire;  4  vols.,  Lippin- 

cott  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. 
Emerton  :  Introduction  to  the  Middle  Ages  ;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Thatcher  and   Schwill :    History  of  the  Middle  Ages ;    Scribner's 

Sons,  N.Y. 
Duruy :  A  History  of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  Holt  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Tacitus:  Germania;  Macmillan  Co.,  N.Y. 
Bryce :  The  Holy  Roman  Empire  ;  Macmillan  Co.,  N.Y. 
Kemp :  Outlines  of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools  ;  Ginn 

&  Co.,  Boston. 


THE   MONASTERY,   AND    HOW   CHRISTIAN- 
ITY  HELPED   THE   GERMANS 

The  principal  things  we  have  thus  far  learned  about 
the  Teutons  are  that  they  were  not  always  content  to 
remain  around  the  Baltic  sea,  in  the  German  woods  and 
on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine  and  Danube,  where  we  early 
met  them.  They  were  of  a  free  and  roaming  disposition, 
as  we  have  already  seen  when  studying  their  early  cus- 
toms and  habits.  So,  when  Rome  became  so  corrupt 
that  she  could  no  longer  defend  herself,  and  when  the 
Huns,  a  very  fierce  people  who  lived  northeast  of  the 
Germans,  began  to  attack  them,  one  tribe  of  the  Ger- 
mans, the  Goths,  began  to  make  raids  on  Rome,  finally 
conquering  it  and  settling  in  Italy.  Another  tribe,  the 
Vandals,  marched  around  through  Gaul  and  Spain, 
crossed  over  to  Africa  and  conquered  old  Carthage. 
Still  another  settled  in  Spain,  and  yet  others,  the  Saxons, 
Angles,  and  Jutes,  crossed  over  to  England.  The  tribe, 
however,  which  seemed  to  be  the  most  important  at  this 
time  was  the  Franks.  They  settled  in  France,  and  in 
time  one  of  their  leaders,  named  Charlemagne,  succeeded 
in  conquering  a  great  deal  of  the  country  around  him 
and  in  uniting  many  of  the  people  into  one  nation. 

Nor  did  the  Germans  always  remain  in  the  barbarous 
state  in  which  we  first  saw  them.  They  had  very  keen 
intellects  and  were  quick  to  "  catch  on  "  to  new  things, 
as  we  sometimes  say.     As  soon  as  they  came  in  contact 

258 


HOW  THE  MONASTERY  INFLUENCED  GERMANS      259 

with  the  Romans  they  took  on  many  of  their  ideas  and 
customs.  Another  thing  which  they  early  began  to  adopt 
and  which  greatly  influenced  them,  was  Christianity./ 
This  came  to  them  at  first  through  the  institution  called 
monasticism.  So  the  next  thing  we  shall  try  to  see  is 
how  the  monasteries  grew  up  all  over  Europe,  how  the 
people  lived  in  them,  and  how  they  influenced  the  lives 
of  the  people. 

Long  before  Christ  was  born,  many  persons,  called 
hermits,  living  in  the  warm  eastern  countries  and  wish- 
ing to  follow  what  they  thought  right,  felt  that  they 
could  not  do  so  on  account  of  the  wickedness  of  the 
people  around  them ;  so  they  left  their  homes  and  their 
friends,  went  into  the  woods  or  caves  or  some  other 
lonely  place,  and  lived  by  themselves.  Here  they  could 
spend  their  time  thinking  about  what  was  right,  and 
would  not  be  influenced  by  the  people  around  them. 

Soon  after  Christ  was  born  this  same  idea  sprang  up 
among  the  Christians.  In  Egypt,  where  the  climate  was 
warm  and  where  food  was  easily  obtained,  men  would 
withdraw  from  their  friends  and  live  in  caves,  or  on  the 
desert.  Their  houses  were  of  the  very  rudest  kind, 
made  from  rough  logs,  covered  with  brush,  and  had  no 
floor  and  very  little  furniture.  Sometimes  they  would 
even  live  in  an  unhealthy  cellar  or  in  a  hole  dug  in  the 
ground.  They  often  had  very  odd  ideas  about  religion. 
They  thought  that  the  body  was  the  cause  of  all  sin,  and 
if  they  would  become  the  best  men  possible,  they 
thought  they  must  "  mortify  the  body,"  that  is,  do  it  all 
the  harm  possible,  or  destroy  it  by  inches. 

Quite  often  they  would  let  their  hair  grow  very  long 
and  take  no  care  of  it  at  all.     Some  of  them  would 


260  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

stand  in  swamps  or  morasses  up  to  their  necks  and 
let  the  flies  and  other  insects  eat  away  the  flesh  of  their 
faces.  Some  would  stand  in  thorn  trees,  and  in  this 
way  try  to  do  the  body  injury.  Others  would  stand  on 
one  leg  until  they  would  fall  from  exhaustion,  or  hold 
out  their  arms  till  they  became  palsied  and  fell  at  the 
side,  withered  and  useless.  One  of  these  men  stood  for 
several  years  through  summer  and  winter  on  top  of  a 
pillar  sixty  feet  high  just  large  enough  to  turn  around 
on,  with  just  enough  food  to  keep  him  alive. 

But  man  is  naturally  a  social  being  and  does  not  like 
to  live  alone.  Partly  for  this  reason,  and  partly  because 
the  climate  was  more  severe  in  Europe  than  in  Egypt 
and  in  the  East,  which  made  it  more  difficult  for  one 
man  alone  to  make  a  living,  these  early  Christians  soon 
began  to  give  up  living  to  themselves  and  began  to  live 
together  in  companies.  Then  it  was  that  their  houses 
began  to  be  called  monasteries. 

In  a  short  time  these  monks,  as  they  were  now  called, 
began  to  spread  out  over  Europe  and  soon  reached  the 
barbaric  Germans,  scattered  and  roaming  through  the 
woods.  Several  of  the  monks  would  go  to  a  place  near 
a  river,  or  to  an  unhealthy  swamp  or  into  some  lonely 
forest,  where  they  would  settle  on  a  piece  of  land  given 
to  them  by  a  chief  or  king.  The  first  thing  they  began 
to  do  was  to  clear  the  ground,  smooth  it  for  their 
building,  and  drain  the  swamps.  The  only  instruments 
they  had  for  doing  this  work  were  rude  hoes,  spades 
and  axes.  Their  axes  looked  much  like  the  corn  knife 
used  by  the  farmer  of  to-day.  From  this  you  can  see 
that  the  work  they  first  had  to  do  was  much  the  same 
as  that  of  the  first  settlers  in  Indiana,  or  in  any  western 


HOW  THE  MONASTERY  INFLUENCED  GERMANS      26 1 

state  covered  with  forests,  and  that  it  was  very  slow 
and  difficult. 

After  some  of  the  ground  had  been  cleared,  the  next 
thing  was  to  build  a  house  from  the  logs  which  they 
had  cut  from  the  land.  This  house  was,  of  course,  very 
rude,  with  its  cracks  filled  with  sticks  and  mud,  with  its 
roof  made  of  boards  split  from  logs,  and  its  floor  of 
roughly  hewn  slabs.  The  monasteries  usually  had  at 
first  three  rooms.  One  of  these  was  a  writing  room, 
another  the  sleeping  room,  and  the  third  a  place  of 
worship. 

As  time  went  on,  rules  for  governing  the  monasteries 
were  formed.  The  first  great  man  who  wrote  out  a 
code  of  rules  for  them  was  St.  Benedict.  According 
to  these,  a  monk  must  take  three  vows :  One  of  poverty, 
which  meant  that  he  gave  up  all  his  property  on  be- 
coming a  monk  and  that  he  would  never  own  anything 
afterward.  Another  chastity,  which  meant  that  he 
would  never  marry.  The  third  of  obedience,  which 
meant  that  they  would  always  place  themselves  under 
complete  control  of  the  rulers  of  the  monastery. 

The  chief  officer  controlling  the  monastery  was  called 
the  abbot,  who  obtained  his  place  by  election.  To  help 
him  oversee  the  work  of  the  monastery  he  had  officers 
under  him.  The  first  of  these  was  the  prior,  who  con- 
trolled subordinate  officers  and  acted  in  the  place  of  the 
abbot  when  he  was  away.  Then  came  the  sub-prior, 
who  helped  the  prior.  The  deans  had  charge  of  the 
reports  of  the  doings  of  the  monasteries.  The  cellarer 
looked  after  the  provisions  and  clothing.  The  econo- 
mus  attended  to  the  church,  while  the  procurator  saw 
that  all  accounts  were  kept  in  the  right  way. 


262  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

Another  very  important  provision  in  their  rules  was 
that  they  were  not  to  abuse  their  bodies  as  the  monks 
had  done  in  the  East,  and  that  they  were  not  to  waste 
their  time  in  idleness.  At  first  the  thing  which  occu- 
pied most  of  their  time,  as  already  said,  was  clearing 
the  forest  and  draining  the  swamps.  They  worked 
slowly  but  faithfully  at  this,  until  what  was  once  the 
most  dreary  waste  became  a  land  waving  with  crops  and 
covered  with  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats,  herds  of  cattle 
and  droves  of  hogs. 

The  amount  of  their  land  gradually  increased,  because 
as  men  became  monks  they  would  give  their  land  to 
the  monastery,  and  other  men  who  admired  the  good 
qualities  of  the  monks  would  give  them  vast  tracts  of 
land  also.  Thus  it  came  about  that  after  a  while  the 
monasteries  became  very  wealthy.  Of  course  as  they 
grew  more  wealthy  they  made  their  buildings  better, 
the  log  ones  gradually  giving  way  to  those  of  greater 
comfort  and  beauty. 

At  the  time  when  monasticism  reached  its  greatest 
power,  say  from  a  thousand  to  fifteen  hundred  a.d., 
each  monastery  had  four  or  five  extensive  buildings. 
One  of  these  was  the  church.  This  was  always  built 
in  the  form  of  a  cross  with  the  long  part  of  it  run- 
ning east  and  west.  The  longer  portion  of  this  was 
called  the  nave  and  the  shorter  portion  the  choir.  The 
choir  was  used  as  a  place  of  worship  by  the  monks, 
while  the  nave  could  be  used  at  any  time  by  any  one 
else  who  wished  to  come  there  for  worship.  A  large 
fine  door  was  always  in  the  west  end  of  the  nave. 

The  portion  of  the  church  which  ran  crosswise,  or  the 
arms  of  the  cross,  was  called  the  transept.     In  one  end 


HOW  THE  MONASTERY  INFLUENCED  GERMANS      263 

of  this  were  kept  the  relics  of  the  dead  monks  and  saints 
of  the  church,  such  as  parts  of  their  clothing,  their  pens, 
staffs,  and  often  some  of  their  bones. 

These  churches  grew  to  be  as  fine  as  money  could 
make  them,  and  many  masons  and  artists  were  almost 
always  working  on  them  trying  to  make  them  more 
beautiful  both  without  and  within.  In  them  were  placed 
rows  of  beautiful  pillars  which  supported  the  roof.  In 
many  parts  of  the  church  were  statues  of  Christ,  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  and  of  the  saints.  The  windows  were 
made  of  beautiful  stained  glass  of  many  different  pat- 
terns and  designs,  and  in  many  places  there  were  beau- 
tiful curtains  made  from  the  most  expensive  cloth. 
The  vessels  used  in  the  church  service  after  the  monas- 
teries became  wealthy  were  almost  always  made  of  gold 
and  silver. 

The  church  was  built  on  the  north  side  of  a  plot  of 
ground  not  quite  as  large  as  the  average  public  square 
in  one  of  our  cities.  Generally  on  the  east  of  this  plot 
(the  plot  was  called  the  garth  or  cloister  garth)  was  the 
chapter  house,  which,  along  with  the  other  buildings, 
was  never  as  fine  as  the  church.  In  it  was  a  large  bare 
room,  with  benches  upon  which  the  monks  sat  when 
they  came  to  discuss  matters  concerning  the  monastery 
and  to  have  their  duties  for  each  day  assigned  to  them 
by  the  prior  or  other  officer. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  garth  was  the  refectory,  in 
which  all  the  cooking  was  done.  Here  we  might  have 
seen  at  the  dining  hours  a  long,  narrow  table  with  stools 
at  its  sides,  with  the  monks  eating  their  meals  in  silence. 
At  one  end  of  this  room  was  a  raised  place  or  kind  of 
platform  in  the  floor,  upon  which   some   monk  would 


264  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

stand  and  read  from  the  Bible  in  Latin  before  each 
meal.  In  the  room  where  the  cooking  was  done  they 
had  huge  fireplaces.  Iron  rods  were  fixed  in  these  so 
that  kettles  could  be  hung  on  them.  In  these  they 
cooked  their  vegetables.  They  roasted  fowls  and  meat 
by  hanging  them  over  the  fire,  and  baked  their  coarse 
bread  by  putting  it  in  the  ashes. 

The  other  building  on  the  south  of  the  garth  was  the 
dormitory,  or  sleeping  room.  This  was  usually  divided 
into  small  rooms,  or  cells,  each  occupied  by  a  single 
monk.  In  this  little  room  he  had  a  rude  bed  made  by 
putting  rough  boards  on  benches,  and  then  covering  the 
boards  with  furs,  leaves  and  moss.  He  also  had  a  chair 
without  arms,  and  a  stool  upon  which  to  kneel  when- he 
prayed.  On  the  east  side  of  the  garth  was  a  building 
for  entertaining  strangers  and  a  place  for  the  sick. 
Under  these  buildings  were  cellars  for  storing  away  a 
part  of  their  crops  of  grains,  vegetables  and  fruits  for 
food. 

Going  all  around  the  four  sides  of  the  garth  and 
extending  from  the  inner  wall  of  all  the  buildings  just 
named,  was  something  like  a  porch,  the  roof  of  which 
was  supported  by  beautiful  columns.  This  was  called 
the  cloister.  It  was  here  that  the  monks  spent  a  great 
deal  of  their  time  in  thinking,  taking  exercise,  especially 
in  rainy  weather,  and  talking  to  others.  In  the  garth 
were  many  beautiful  flowers,  and  a  pretty  fountain  in 
the  center  to  keep  them  fresh.  This  is  about  the  typi- 
cal monastery,  and  something  of  its  life  within,  which 
we  would  have  seen  there  could  we  have  traveled  over 
western  Europe  between  five  hundred  to  one  thousand 
years  after  Christ,  when  the  monks  were  industrious, 


HOW  THE  MONASTERY  INFLUENCED  GERMANS      265 

and  were  making  heroic  sacrifices  to  teach  the  German 
barbarians  the  truths  of  Christianity. 

If  a  man  wished  to  become  a  monk,  he  was  put  on 
trial  for  two  years,  one  of  which  was  spent  in  the  mo- 
nastic school.  If  at  the  end  of  that  time  he  still  wished 
to  continue  the  life,  he  was  required  to  take  certain  vows. 
One  of  them  was  a  vow  of  stability.  By  this  vow  he 
promised  never  to  leave  the  monastery.  Then  came 
the  vows  which  I  have  mentioned  before  —  chastity, 
obedience  and  poverty.  After  certain  very  solemn 
ceremonies  he  was  given  the  dress  of  the  monk. 

This  consisted  of  the  frock,  which  was  a  sort  of  gown 
gathered  around  the  neck  and  falling  loosely  to  the  feet. 
It  had  large  loose  sleeves.  Attached  to  the  back  of 
this  was  a  hood,  which  could  be  drawn  over  the  head  if 
he  so  desired.  He  had  a  belt  to  bind  the  robe  to  the 
body,  and  sandals  which  were  bound  on  the  feet  with 
straps.  The  clothing  was  usually  made  from  black 
material,  which  gave  one  class  the  name  of  black  monks. 
While  walking  around  and  about  the  buildings  it  was 
their  custom  to  bow  their  heads  ■  and  when  outside  the 
buildings  they  carried  a  long  cane.  This  tended  to 
make  them  look  like  old  men. 

But  I  wish  to  tell  you  still  more  of  the  life  which  went 
on  in  and  around  the  monastery,  since,  as  I  already  said, 
it  was  very  far  from  being  a  place  of  idleness.  We  would 
naturally  expect  them  to  employ  much  of  their  time  at 
worship,  and  so  they  did,  since  they  had  no  less  than 
seven  services  a  day.  Six  of  these  were  in  the  daytime 
and  one  at  midnight.  All  those  who  could  possibly  do 
so  were  required  to  be  at  all  of  these  services. 

Some  of  the  monks  had  to  take  care  of  the  flowers  in 


266  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

the  garth.  Some  did  the  cooking,  and  each  one  was  re- 
quired to  take  care  of  his  own  room.  They  also  had 
workshops.  In  some  of  these,  beautiful  ornaments  for 
the  church  were  made,  while  in  others  were  made  saddles, 
swords  and  shields,  for  the  monks  often  had  to  go  into 
the  army  and  fight.  There  were  tanners  to  make  leather, 
shoemakers  to  make  shoes,  weavers  who  wove  cloth,  and 
tailors  who  made  clothing.  There  were  blacksmiths 
who  made  spades,  hoes,  rakes,  axes  and  plows  for  use 
on  the  farm. 

As  I  have  already  told  you,  some  cleared  the  forests 
and  drained  the  swamps,  others  tended  the  crops,  and 
still  others  watched  the  flocks.  From  all  this  you  see  it 
was  not  a  place  of  idleness.  In  fact  it  was  a  little  town 
within  itself  and  was  something  like  a  country  town  in 
which  all  the  farmers  would  live  in  the  village,  and  yet 
own  and  cultivate  all  the  land  for  miles  around.  They 
also  had  a  school  here,  so  that  parents  living  in  the 
country  and  towns  around  who  wished  might  send  their 
boys  to  it.  Of  course  this  required  teachers,  who  were 
always  monks. 

The  study  most  emphasized  in  these  schools  was 
Latin.  Every  one  had  to  learn  to  read  and  write  it. 
Besides  this  they  had  two  other  courses.  One  was  called 
the  trivium,  and  included  grammar,  rhetoric  and  logic. 
The  other  was  the  quadrivium,  and  included  arithmetic, 
geometry,  astronomy  and  music.  This  seems  as  if  it 
were  a  very  good  course,  but  the  fact  was  that  the 
teachers  knew  very  little  about  most  of  the  subjects. 
They  taught  the  Latin  well,  so  that  they  might  use  it 
in  their  church  service,  but  most  of  the  other  teaching 
was  poor.     They  did  not  teach  geography  or  history  in 


HOW  THE  MONASTERY  INFLUENCED  GERMANS      267 

these  schools,  and  they  were  very  ignorant  about  botany, 
chemistry,  astronomy  and  the  like. 

They  all  enjoyed  hunting  and  going  to  war.  At  first 
both  were  considered  improper  for  the  monks,  but  after 
they  grew  less  devoted  to  religion  they  spent  much  of 
their  time  in  these  things. 

One  thing  which  they  are  to  be  praised  very  much 
for,  was  their  treatment  of  strangers.  If  a  man  travel- 
ing through  the  forest  got  lost  or  wished  some  place  to 
stay  all  night  (for  at  that  time  there  were  no  hotels  as 
there  are  now  for  one  to  stop  at),  he  was  always  wel- 
comed by  the  monks.  They  also  had  a  hospital  in 
which  they  took  care  of  the  sick.  This  was  a  thousand 
years  and  more  before  ether  was  discovered  which 
deadens  pain  when  surgery  is  performed,  and  in  fact 
the  doctors  of  that  day  knew  very  little  about  surgery. 
If  it  was  necessary  to  perform  an  operation,  they 
strapped  the  patient  fast  to  something  solid,  for  ex- 
ample, a  bench  or  table,  then  did  the  work,  and  then 
seared  the  wound  with  a  hot  iron  in  order  to  stop  it  from 
bleeding.  Their  medicines  were  chiefly  roots  and  herbs. 
They  also  thought  that  a  sick  person  by  touching  sacred 
relics  might  be  healed,  often  immediately.  Partly  for  this 
reason  the  desire  for  sacred  relics  became  so  great  that 
in  the  eleventh,  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  thou- 
sands of  people  marched  in  a  sort  of  army  back  to 
Jerusalem  to  get  something  which  Christ  or  one  of  his 
disciples  had  worn,  or  had  been  in  some  way  associated 
with.  This  helped  to  bring  about  the  Crusades,  which 
we  will  study  next  year. 

Another  occupation  which  took  a  great  deal  of  the 
time  of  some  of  the  monks  was  writing.     Nearly  every 


268  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

monastery  had  a  library  —  generally  not  larger  than  five 
hundred  books;  of  course  these  were  always  written, 
since  in  that  day  they  had  no  printing  presses.  What 
books  do  you  suppose  they  wrote,  or  rather  copied,  from 
century  to  century  ?  Since  it  is  religion  in  which  they 
were  most  interested,  we  would  naturally  expect  them  to 
take  great  interest  in  the  Bible ;  and  since  they  were  con- 
cerned to  some  degree  with  education,  we  might  expect 
them  to  take  some  interest  in  the  writings  of  old  Greece 
and  Rome.  This  was  the  case.  They  made  copy  after 
copy  of  the  Bible  and  some  of  the  Greek  and  Roman 
writings  and  placed  them  in  their  libraries. 

The  writing  was  always  done  on  parchment,  vellum,  or 
papyrus.  Parchment  was  made  from  the  skin  of  sheep 
and  goats.  The  skin  was  first  put  in  lime  or  strong 
ashes  to  remove  the  hair.  Then  it  was  rubbed  with  a 
smooth  pumice  stone  to  polish  it.  When  it  was  dry,  it 
made  a  smooth,  hard  surface  which  could  easily  be 
written  upon.  The  vellum,  which  was  a  fine  grade  of 
parchment,  was  made  in  the  same  manner  from  the  skin 
of  calves.  The  papyrus  paper  you  have  learned  about 
already  in  the  second  and  third  grades.  They  wrote 
with  a  very  rude  pen  made  from  the  feather  of  a  goose. 
Their  ink  was  made  of  vinegar,  lamp  black  and  gum, 
and  did  not  bite  into  the  paper  so  much  as  our  ink  does 
now,  hence  it  was  rather  easier  to  erase  it.  It  was  of 
many  colors  —  red,  yellow,  blue,  purple  and  the  color  of 
silver.  The  writing  was  often  so  heavy  that  it  was  very 
hard  to  read  and  made  the  page  look  as  if  it  were  almost 
black.  To  help  this  somewhat,  they  frequently  wrote 
on  a  page  with  different  colors  of  ink.  The  first  letter 
of  a  paragraph  would  often  be  made  very  large  and  in 


HOW  THE  MONASTERY  INFLUENCED  GERMANS      269 

many  colors,  so  that  it  looked  very  beautiful.  Sometimes 
different-colored  letters  would  be  scattered  over  the 
page,  so  that  the  page  would  not  look  so  black. 

If  we  could  have  visited  one  of  these  writing  rooms,  we 
would  have  seen  groups  of  five  or  six  men,  each  seated 
in  different  parts  of  the  room.  One  of  the  group 
would  be  reading  while  the  others  were  copying  what  he 
read.  Some  of  those  who  copied  were  very  careful,  but 
others  were  just  as  careless.  They  would  sometimes 
omit  words,  sometimes  write  the  wrong  word,  often 
misspell  words,  and  never  punctuate  what  they  wrote, 
for  at  that  time  punctuation  marks  were  not  used  in 
writing.  From  these  causes  it  came  about  that  the 
various  copies  which  they  made  of  any  book,  the  Bible 
for  example,  would  not  be  exactly  alike,  and  this  caused 
great  scholars  at  the  time  of  the  Renascence  in  the 
fifteenth  century  and  of  the  Reformation  in  the  sixteenth 
to  spend  much  time  comparing  the  various  copies  of  the 
Greek  and  Latin  authors  and  of  authors  of  the  Bible, 
to  see  exactly  what  the  original  writers  wrote  and  meant. 

The  books  we  should  have  seen  there  would  not  have 
looked  much  like  ours.  The  first  ones  were  made  by 
fastening  many  pieces  of  parchment  together  lengthwise, 
so  as  to  make  a  long  strip.  This  could  then  be  rolled 
and  unrolled  by  attaching  a  stick  to  each  end.  After 
awhile  they  began  cutting  their  parchment  into  pieces 
and  folding  them,  so  that  they  would  look  much  like  two 
sheets  of  letter  cap  paper.  They  then  put  many  of  these 
folded  pieces  together,  and  placed  a  piece  of  board  of  the 
right  size  on  either  side,  and  bound  them  together. 

In  a  short  time  they  began  to  cover  these  wooden 
backs   with    pictures   or    beautiful   cloth.      They   also 


270  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

drove  short  nails  in  the  lids,  so  that  when  the  book  was 
laid  down  the  ornamental  back  would  not  be  soiled  by 
rubbing  against  whatever  it  was  placed  on.  Many  of 
the  books  had  backs  made  of  boards  two  inches  thick. 
This  made  them  very  heavy  and  awkward ;  so  handles 
were  placed  on  them  to  make  it  easier  to  hold  them 
while  reading,  or  in  some  cases  they  were  placed  on 
stands,  as  we  sometimes  do  with  heavy  books  like  our 
large  dictionaries. 

After  a  while  the  monks  largely  lost  interest  in  copy- 
ing the  Bible  and  the  Greek  and  Roman  writers,  and 
spent  much  of  their  time  in  writing  histories  of  their 
monasteries  and  the  sayings  of  their  great  men.  Some 
of  the  old  copies  of  the  Bible,  of  Homer's  poems  and  the 
like,  were  put  away  in  a  closet,  or  garret,  or  cellar,  and 
after  many  years  became  almost  covered  up  with  dust. 
Still,  as  more  and  more  monasteries  were  founded,  there 
was  greater  demand  for  paper  for  making  copies  of 
Bibles,  for  writing  monastic  histories,  keeping  accounts 
of  their  daily  proceedings,  and  other  like  things. 

About  the  middle  of  the  Middle  Ages,  say  about  iooo, 
papyrus  paper  grew  to  be  very  scarce,  and  finally  dis- 
appeared altogether.  It  then  became  necessary  to  write 
wholly  on  parchment  or  vellum.  These  at  best  were  not 
plentiful,  and  when  papyrus  disappeared,  they  were 
entirely  too  scarce  to  furnish  people  enough  to  write 
upon  ;  the  monks  began  therefore  quite  largely  to  write 
on  both  sides  of  their  manuscripts.  This  still  not  being 
sufficient,  they  began  erasing  the  writing  of  the  old 
parchment  and  using  it  a  second  time,  often  writing 
a  sermon  upon  it,  or  giving  an  account  of  some  unimpor- 
tant matter,  as  the  death  of  a  cow,  or  the  appearance  of 


HOW  THE  MONASTERY  INFLUENCED  GERMANS      27 1 

a  comet  —  a  matter  not  a  hundredth  part  as  important 
as  the  poem  or  Gospel  which  had  been  erased  for  the 
sake  of  the  parchment. 

About  a  hundred  years  before  the  discovery  of  Amer- 
ica, the  Teutons  of  western  Europe  began  to  take  great 
interest  in  the  Bible  and  the  poems  of  Greece  and 
Rome.  But  when  they  began  to  search  for  copies  of 
these,  they  found  there  were  no  original  copies  anywhere 
to  be  found,  and  that  the  only  ones  which  were  to  be 
found  were  copies  which  had  been  copied  from  other 
copies,  and  even  these  had  sometimes  been  made  in  the 
most  careless  manner.  Many  times  they  could  find 
only  a  small  part  of  a  Gospel  or  a  poem.  Very  often 
there  could  be  seen  beneath  the  upper  writing  on  some 
manuscripts,  traces  of  the  original,  which  the  monk  had 
not  fully  scrubbed  out  with  his  pumice  stone.  We  can 
scarcely  realize  what  a  great  grief  it  was  to  the  scholars 
when  they  came  to  desire  this  original  writing,  to  find 
it  frequently  destroyed.  Had  this  not  been  done,  we 
should  now  probably  know  more  about  the  Bible,  about 
the  life  of  Jesus'  and  the  Apostles,  and  about  the  life 
and  literature  of  Greece  and  Rome,  than  we  shall  now 
ever  know. 

Thus  we  have  seen  something  of  monasticism  as  it 
arose  and  grew  to  its  full  strength ;  but  just  as  we  saw 
the  Romans  grow  to  be  strong,  then  gradually  become 
wealthy,  and  in  grasping  for  the  world  lose  their  whole 
empire,  so  the  monasteries  grew  strong  in  worldly 
things,  but  weak  in  spiritual  life. 

As  they  grew  wealthy  they  often  became  less  devoted 
to  the  true  worship  of  God,  and  instead  of  being  places 
for  developing  a  higher  life  of  the  soul,  they  often  be- 


272  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

came  places  for  indulging  the  pleasures  and  vices  of 
the  body.  Yet  with  all  these  faults,  the  monks  in  the 
dark  ages  in  which  they  lived  did  a  vast  amount  of  good, 
and  it  is  for  the  good  that  they  did,  and  not  for  the  evil, 
that  we  should  chiefly  remember  them.  What  were 
some  of  the  important  things  they  did  whose  good 
influence  reaches  down  to  after  times  and  even  to  the 
present  day  ? 

In  the  first  place,  they  introduced  among  the  Euro- 
peans better  ways  of  cultivating  the  land  and  of  raising 
crops.  They  were  in  fact  the  pioneers,  who  drained 
the  swamps,  and  cleared  the  woods  so  that  our  early 
Teutonic  ancestors  could  get  a  start  in  civilization. 

In  the  second  place,  by  introducing  Christianity  among 
the  barbarians  their  lives  were  greatly  softened,  and  their 
chief  ideals  of  hunting,  fishing  and  warring  were  gradu- 
ally changed  to  more  peaceful  pursuits  and  to  the  idea 
of  a  common  brotherhood  of  man. 

In  the  third  place,  by  means  of  a  monastic  school  the 
monks  hung  up,  as  it  were,  a  lantern,  which  dimly  shed 
its  light  through  the  dark  forests  of  that  ignorant  time. 
The  monastery  and  the  life  which  grew  up  around  it 
was  the  bridge,  so  to  speak,  over  which  the  life  which 
had  grown  up  in  Judea,  Greece  and  Rome  was  carried 
northward  over  the  Alps,  and  gradually  given  out  to 
western  Europe  as  the  people  became  educated  enough 
to  understand  it.  The  monastery  then  was,  in  a  great 
degree,  the  church,  the  school,  the  farm,  the  manufac- 
tory, and  to  a  considerable  degree  the  government,  of 
the  Middle  Ages.  In  that  rough  and  barbaric  time 
such  a  free  school  system  as  we  now  have,  or  such  free 
religious   ideas   as  we   enjoy  to-day,  were   impossible 


HOW  THE  MONASTERY.  INFLUENCED  GERMANS      273 

We  must  not,  therefore,  blame  the  monk  that  he  did  not 
set  these  free  ideas  up  and  practice  them  as  we  do  at 
the  present  time.  If  he  had  not  patiently  carried  down 
through  those  dark  times  the  learning  which  he  did,  and 
given  it  to  others  who  came  after  him,  it  would  be  im- 
possible for  us  to  have  the  opportunities  for  education 
and  free  religious  thought  which  we  now  enjoy. 

We  must  not,  then,  judge  the  monk  principally  by 
some  strange  things  which  he  did  in  the  early  life  of 
monasticism,  such  as  wearing  his  hair  long  or  wasting 
his  life  on  top  of  a  pillar;  or  by  the  idle  and  wicked 
lives  which  many  led  in  the  later  centuries,  but  by  his 
earnest,  patient,  industrious  life  when  the  monastery 
was  the  brightest  spot  in  a  dark  forest  and  the  chief 
means  of  leading  the  ignorant  man  of  the  Middle  Ages 
up  to  a  stage  where,  by  other  means,  he  could  climb  to 
a  higher  view  and  afterwhile  catch  in  all  its  fullness  the 
idea  that  the  greatest  servant  of  God  is  he  who  is  the 
truest  servant  of  his  fellow  men ;  and  that,  therefore, 
the  truest  service  to  God  does  not  come  from  with- 
drawing from  the  sin,  sorrow  and  suffering  of  society, 
but  from  staying  in  society  and  manfully  struggling  to 
lift  it  to  greater  purity  and  nobler  life. 

References 

Emerton :  Introduction  to  the  Middle  Ages ;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Thatcher  and   Schwill :   Europe   in   the  Middle   Ages;    Scribner's 

Sons,  N.Y. 
Duruy :  History  of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  Holt  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Lacroix:    Science  and   Literature   of  the  Middle  Ages;   Appleton 

&  Co.,  N.Y. 
Lacroix:    Manners   and   Customs  of  the   Middle  Ages;   Appleton 

&  Co.,  N.Y. 


274  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

Lacroix :  Military  and  Religious  Life  of  the  Middle  Ages ;  Apple- 
ton  &  Co.  N.  Y. 

Kemp :  Outlines  of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools ; 
Ginn  &  Company,  Boston. 

Montalembert :  Monks  of  the  West;  6  vols;  Longmans,  Green 
&  Co.,  N.Y. 

Sabatier  :  Life  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 

DeVinne:  Invention  of  Printing;  Hart  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

Putnam :  Books  and  Their  Makers  in  the  Middle  Ages ;  2  vols. ; 
Putnam's  Sons,  N.Y. 

Study  articles  on  Monasticism,  Printing,  Monasteries  and  Abbeys 
in  good  cyclopedias. 

Study  the  lives  of  Simeon  Stylites,  St.  Benedict,  Francis  of  Assisi, 
St.  Dominic,  and  the  Order  of  Carmelite  Monks. 


THE  CASTLE,  AND  HOW  FEUDALISM  SOFT- 
ENED AND  REFINED  THE  LIFE  OF  THE 
TEUTON 

During  the  same  time  that  the  monastery  was  grow- 
ing up,  —  that  is,  from  the  sixth  to  the  thirteenth  cen- 
turies, —  there  arose  in  Europe  a  special  form  of  society 
and  government  called  Feudalism.  Although  it  began 
soon  after  the  scattering  of  the  Teutons  over  western 
Europe,  it  did  not  reach  its  highest  development  till  the 
twelfth  century. 

In  the  German  forests  the  early  Teutons  owned  no  land, 
for  they  were  only  hunters  and  warriors.  But  when  they 
crossed  over  into  Gaul  they  found  choice  farms,  cultivated 
vineyards,  orchards  loaded  with  fruits,  and  large  fields 
of  ripening  grain.  They  soon  formed  a  taste  for  these 
things,  and  as  they  were  conquerors  looking  for  booty 
and  plunder,  they  took  away  from  the  people  a  large  por- 
tion— sometimes  a  third  or  a  half — of  the  choicest  lands. 

It  was  a  custom  among  the  Teutonic  chiefs  while 
they  still  lived  in  the  great  woods,  to  reward  faithful 
companions  who  fought  well  by  giving  them  a  horse,  or 
a  fine  spear,  or  a  shield,  for  these  were  to  them  the 
most  valuable  gifts  that  could  be  made.  As  the  Teu- 
tons became  more  settled,  their  tastes  considerably 
changed.  Land  became  the  most  valuable  thing  for 
them,  so  the  chief  gave  them  land  instead  of  horses  and 
implements  of  war.     In  this  way  they  gradually  became 

275 


276  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

owners  of  farms  and  farmers.  We  have  already  seen 
how  the  Franks,  from  their  small  possessions  lying  about 
the  mouth  of  the  Rhine  spread  out  over  the  country  to 
the  west,  east  and  south,  conquering  it  down  almost  as 
far  as  the  Pyrenees  Mountains.  For  several  centuries 
there  were  many  divisions  among  these  fierce  warriors. 
Often  there  were  several  persons,  each  of  whom  claimed 
the  right  to  be  king  and  tried  to  obtain  the  kingship  by 
force.  This  led  to  constant  war  and  to  divisions  of  the 
people  into  hostile  parties. 

Occasionally  a  strong  and  powerful  leader  arose 
among  them.  The  most  noted  of  these  was  Charles 
the  Great,  or,  as  we  usually  call  him,  Charlemagne. 
During  his  long  reign  of  forty-six  years  (768-814  a.d.) 
he  extended  the  country  of  the  Franks  until  it  embraced 
most  of  what  is  now  included  in  the  states  of  Holland, 
Belgium,  Germany,  France,  Switzerland,  Austria  and 
Italy,  and  on  Christmas  Day  in  800  a.d.  he  was  even 
crowned  Emperor  of  Rome. 

He  was  the  most  powerful  ruler  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
as  he  must  have  been  to  control  so  large  a  state,  but 
soon  after  his  death,  814  a.d.,  strife  again  began.  The 
state  which  he  had  set  up  soon  fell  to  pieces.  Many 
rival  leaders  struggled  for  power,  and  whenever  one 
leader  overcame  an  enemy  he  took  his  lands  from  him 
and  tried  to  establish  his  power  over  him  as  king. 

It  was  always  to  the  interest  of  the  struggling  king 
to  have  these  lands  in  the  hands  of  his  friends,  so  he 
gave  to  many  of  his  most  faithful  followers  large  tracts 
which  they  might  use  and  rule  as  long  as  they  would 
fight  for  him  whenever  he  called  upon  them.  That  is, 
he  rented  the  land  to  them,  not  as  a  farmer  would  now 


HOW   THE   CASTLE    REFINED    THE    TEUTON       277 

rent  a  farm  in  the  United  States  for  money  or  a  share 
of  the  grain,  but  for  military  service.  The  land  which 
the  king  gave  out  in  this  way  was  called  a  fief,  or  a 
feud,  and  the  man  who  received  it  was  called  a  vassal. 
This  method  of  giving  it,  together  with  the  relation  of 
the  king  to  the  vassal,  was  called  the  Feudal  System. 

The  ceremony  of  making  a  man  a  vassal  was  im- 
pressive and  interesting.  The  man  knelt  with  his 
head  uncovered  and  his  hands  placed  in  those  of  his 
future  lord  and  solemnly  promised  to  be  from  that  time 
on  his  man,  to  serve  him  faithfully,  even  if  it  became 
necessary  to  give  his  life  for  him.  This  promise  was 
then  sealed  with  a  kiss,  and  the  lord,  to  show  that  he 
was  giving  the  land  to  the  vassal,  gave  him  a  clod  or 
a  stick,  or  if  it  happened  that  he  was  giving  a  whole 
province,  he  gave  him  a  flag. 

It  was  the  vassal's  duty  to  go  with  his  lord  on 
military  expeditions  whenever  he  was  asked  to  do  so. 
He  was  to  defend  him  in  battle ;  if  his  lord  was  thrown 
from  his  horse,  or  if  the  horse  was  killed,  it  was  the 
vassal's  duty  to  give  him  his  own  instead;  if  the  lord 
was  taken  prisoner,  the  vassal  must  offer  to  become 
the  hostage  for  his  lord's  release. 

Oftentimes,  too,  he  must  give  money  to  help  carry 
on  an  expedition;  at  other  times  he  must  give  money 
to  help  support  the  lord's  family ;  when  the  lord's 
oldest  son  became  a  knight,  he  must  pay  a  certain 
sum;  he  must  do  the  same  when  the  lord's  eldest 
daughter  was  married.  In  return  for  this,  the  lord 
must  give  the  vassal  advice  when  he  asks  for  it  and 
must  protect  him  from  his  enemies  at  all  times.  In 
these  wild,  rough  times,  say  from  500  to  1 200,  it  was 


278  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

no  small  task  to  give  one  protection ;  so  if  the  lord 
did  his  duty  toward  his  vassals,  the  advantages  were 
not  all  on  one  side. 

The  fiefs  given  out  by  the  king  were  generally  very 
large,  and  the  vassals  receiving  them  could  grant  smaller 
parts  to  other  persons,  who  would  in  turn  become  vassals 
to  them.  In  this  way  each  of  the  nobles  could  himself 
command  quite  an  army  of  followers. 

At  that  time  no  one's  property  or  life  was  safe,  and 
the  king  very  often  could  not  protect  the  people.  In 
this  case  the  holders  of  small  farms  who  owned  them 
entirely,  just  as  farmers  do  now  in  the  United  States, 
must  look  to  some  one  else  for  protection.  To  secure 
this  they  often  gave  their  land  to  some  noble  and 
became  his  vassal.  Thus  the  nobles  greatly  enlarged 
their  already  large  fiefs,  and  it  was  not  long  until  all 
the  land  came  into  the  feudal  estates. 

Even  the  monasteries  which  owned  large  tracts  of  land, 
in  order  to  gain  this  protection  were  forced  to  become 
vassals  of  some  powerful  noble,  as  well  as  to  furnish 
soldiers  for  the  noble's  army.  But  they,  too,  had  many 
vassals  who  gained  the  protection  which  the  monasteries 
could  give. 

On  many  of  the  farms  were  laborers  called  serfs. 
These  remained  on  the  land,  no  matter  who  owned 
it,  and  were  bought  and  sold  with  it  just  as  if  they 
were  so  many  trees  or  houses. 

The  nobles  or  feudal  lords  were  like  so  many  little 
kings.  They  governed  all  their  vassals,  made  the 
laws  for  them,  punished  them  when  they  did  wrong, 
had  the  right  to  make  war  on  other  feudal  lords, 
could  coin  money,  tax  outsiders  who  wished  to  trade 


HOW   THE   CASTLE   REFINED   THE   TEUTON       279 

in  their  possessions,  and  do  many  other  things  which 
a  king  usually  does. 

From  this  you  see  little  power  was  left  to  the  king. 
There  was  no  strong  central  government  such  as  we  saw 
in  Rome,  or  such  as  there  is  at  present  in  the  United 
States.  Each  great  feudal  farm  was  a  kind  of  state 
in  itself.  It  was  just  as  if  in  our  state  there  were  a 
governor  who  gave  to  his  friends  each  a  county,  which 
they  could  rule  as  they  pleased  just  so  long  as  they 
were  willing  to  help  him  fight  when  he  called  upon  them 
and  gave  him  money  when  he  asked  for  it. 

As  there  grew  to  be  many  of  these  feudal  lords 
with  great  farms,  they  often  made  war  upon  one  an- 
other, hoping  to  be  able  to  take  away  the  land  from 
their  neighbors  and  so  enlarge  their  own  fiefs.  For  this 
reason  each  lord  had  to  protect  himself  (for  there  was 
no  standing  army  to  protect  the  whole  country  then  as  we 
have  now),  so  he  built  a  strong  castle  in  which  to  live. 

The  castle  was  placed  on  top  of  a  high,  rocky  cliff 
near  some  river;  for  there  it  would  be  more  secure 
than  in  any  other  place.  Such  a  place  could  not  only 
be  defended  easily,  but  from  its  towers  the  country 
for  miles  around  could  be  seen;  and  if  an  enemy  ap- 
proached, it  could  be  easily  known,  and  preparation 
made  for  defense.  In  building  the  castle,  great  walls 
of  stone  were  built  up  —  sometimes  more  than  fifty 
feet  high.  These  were  made  very  thick  —  fully  ten 
feet  in  some  cases  —  and  inclosed  a  large  court.  On 
top  of  the  walls  were  battlements,  behind  which  men 
protected  themselves  while  they  drove  away  an  attack ; 
and  at  convenient  places  huge  towers  rose  much  higher 
than  the  walls.     On  top  of  the  walls  at  all  times,  sum- 


280  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

mer  and  winter,  in  all  kinds  of  weather,  watchmen 
tramped  and  kept  a  sharp  lookout  for  enemies.  Even 
visitors  did  not  dare  to  come  too  near  unannounced  or 
they  might  be  hit  by  the  watchman's  arrow.  Let  the 
watchman  but  sound  his  trumpet,  and  there  would  be 
hurried  mounting  in  the  castle  courtyard,  and  brave 
knights  would  rush  forth  eager  for  a  conflict. 

The  court  of  the  castle  often  contained  several  acres. 
Here  were  the  mills  which  ground  the  grain  for  the 
use  of  the  lord  and  his  family;  ovens  in  which 
the  bread  was  baked ;  wine  presses  which  furnished 
the  wine ;  smithies  in  which  the  horses  were  shod ; 
shops  where  the  wagons  were  made;  looms  on  which 
the  cloth  was  woven.  It  was  indeed  a  hive  of  indus- 
try; the  huddled  buildings  on  top  and  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill  were  frequently  the  beginnings  of  a  city.  Country 
life  such  as  we  have  now  was  hardly  possible  on  account 
of  the  poor  government  of  the  time ;  people  in  those 
days  had  to  live  under  the  protection  either  of  the 
monastery  or  of  the  castle.  They  might  go  out  to 
look  after  the  farming  through  the  day,  but  safety 
forced  them  to  come  back  for  the  night.  In  the 
morning  the  flocks  of  sheep  and  herds  of  cattle  were 
driven  out  to  the  pastures,  but  night  saw  them  returned 
to  the  court. 

In  the  courtyard,  too,  were  storehouses  for  the  grain, 
stables  for  the  horses,  kennels  for  the  fine  dogs  used 
in  hunting,  various  houses  for  the  servants,  a  church, 
and  sometimes,  but  not  often,  a  schoolhouse. 

A  great  ditch,  or  moat,  not  less  than  twelve  feet  deep 
and  twenty-four  feet  wide,  and  generally  much  wider 
and  deeper,  completely  surrounded  the  outside  of  the 


HOW   THE   CASTLE   REFINED   THE   TEUTON       28 1 

castle  wall.  If  a  river  was  near,  the  ditch  was  filled  with 
water,  thus  making  the  castle  stand  upon  a  little  island. 
Only  one  gateway  passed  through  the  walls,  and  on 
each  side  of  it  was  a  huge  tower.  To  reach  the  gate 
one  had  to  cross  the  moat  upon  a  bridge.  One  end 
of  this  bridge  was  fastened  by  hinges  to  the  castle 
towers,  while  chains  were  fastened  to  the  other  end ;  and 
by  means  of  a  windlass,  placed  in  the  towers,  the  bridge 
could  be  drawn  up  against  the  building,  thus  cutting 
off  passage  across  the  moat  and  closing  up  the  gateway 
in  the  castle  wall.  This  is  why  the  bridge  was  called  a 
drawbridge. 

In  the  gateway  also  was  a  heavy,  grated,  iron  gate 
called  the  portcullis.  This  did  not  open  as  our  farm 
gates  do,  but  had  ropes  and  huge  weights  fastened  to 
it.  These  weights  raised  and  lowered  it  in  a  groove  in 
the  walls  just  as  our  windows  are  raised  and  lowered. 

Near  the  center  of  the  court,  or  at  one  corner  of  it, 
stood  the  great  donjon  keep  —  the  strongest  part  of 
the  castle.  Its  walls  were  higher  than  those  of  the 
court,  —  sometimes  towering  up  to  two  hundred  feet. 
On  these,  also,  were  still  higher  towers.  Over  the  tallest 
of  these  towers  fluttered  the  feudal  lord's  rectangular 
flag.  Through  the  walls,  small,  narrow  windows  let  in 
the  light  and  air.  Iron  bars,  something  like  those  we 
have  in  our  jail  windows,  were  placed  before  them,  to 
keep  out  the  stealthy  assassin.  There  was  yet  no  window 
glass,  so  wooden  shutters  kept  out  the  rain. 

This  strong  place  was  really  the  fort  of  the  castle.  It 
was  the  last  storehouse  for  provisions  and  arms.  Under 
it  was  the  great  well  which  supplied  the  water.  Here 
the  soldiers  retreated,  if  the  court  were  lost,  for  the  final 


282  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

struggle.  Here  was  the  last  hope.  If  this  fell,  all  was 
lost  and  the  defenders  need  expect  no  mercy. 

Under  the  donjon  keep  also  were  the  prisons  —  great 
dungeons  from  which  the  keep  got  its  name.  These 
were  dark,  damp  and  cold.  Here  many  a  vassal,  if 
he  chanced  to  anger  his  lord,  died  amid  the  filth  and 
slime.  Here  many  a  serf  was  starved  like  a  dog.  Hero 
were  kept  the  instruments  of  torture,  as  cruel  as  that 
rude  age  could  invent.  One  of  the  most  cruel  was  an 
iron  wheel  set  with  sharp,  iron  teeth.  On  this  pris- 
oners were  tied  and  beaten  until  death  relieved  the 
pain.  Here,  too,  were  knee  clamps  to  crush  the  knees, 
great  iron  boots  to  crush  the  feet,  and  thumb  screws 
for  crushing  the  thumbs. 

The  first  floor  of  the  keep  was  the  soldiers'  quarters, 
wherein  one  hundred  could  easily  be  accommodated. 
Here  were  kept  the  arms  to  be  used  in  defending  the 
keep  when  the  final  desperate  struggle  should  begin. 

On  the  second  floor  was  the  great  hall.  On  its  walls 
hung  the  trophies  of  many  a  chase  and  many  a  fight. 
The  great  antlers  of  the  stag,  the  fierce  tusks  of  the 
boar,  the  hide  of  the  bear,  the  horns  of  the  bull,  all  had 
a  place  there,  and  around  each  gathered  a  story.  Pen- 
nons and  flags  taken  in  battle,  armor  and  weapons 
taken  in  many  a  fierce  conflict,  formed  a  glittering 
array  and  told  of  warlike  deeds  and  brave  ancestors. 

In  this  great  hall  the  nobler  vassals  feasted  with 
their  lord  and  promised  to  aid  and  serve  him.  Here 
the  troubadour  sang  of  lovers  true  and  maidens  fair. 
Here  the  merry  children  made  the  stony  walls  ring  with 
laughter  and  shouts  of  mock  tournaments.  Here  the 
soldier-guest,  with  many  a  scar,  rested  and  enjoyed  the 


HOW   THE   CASTLE   REFINED   THE   TEUTON      283 

hospitality  of  the  castle  and  told  the  story  of  his  battles 
over  again.  Here,  sometimes,  the  monk  prayed  and 
taught.  Here  the  Christmas  revels  and  feast  called 
forth  the  roasting  of  the  boar's  head,  the  stately  dance 
and  the  mirthful  song.  Here  the  marriage  train  and 
wedding  feast  had  their  time  and  place.  Here,  too, 
the  funeral  dirge  echoed  along  the  lofty  walls,  for  in 
spite  of  life's  joys  there  is  no  place  where  death  does 
not  come,  even  though  it  be  amid  castle  splendor. 

It  was  on  the  third  floor  that  the  lord  and  his  family 
lived  and  slept.  Secret  stairways,  known  to  but  few, 
led  up  to  it.  Within  the  castle  conveniences  were  few. 
Tables,  chairs,  beds,  silver  or  pewter  plates,  cups,  knives 
and  spoons  were  found,  but  no  forks ;  long  wax  candles 
lighted  the  dark  rooms.  In  building  the  castles,  they 
learned  to  leave  holes  through  the  walls  for  the  escape 
of  the  smoke  instead  of  through  the  roof,  and  thus  they 
invented  the  chimney.  On  the  great  open  fireplaces, 
the  logs  burned  and  cracked  while  the  family  gathered 
round.  The  baths  were  not  forgotten,  but  marble  tubs, 
such  as  we  found  in  Greece  and  Rome  were  unknown  in 
the  castle  of  the  Middle  Ages.  In  the  basement  of  the 
keep  were  strong,  stone  troughs  and  wooden  tanks,  filled 
from  the  moat,  and  in  these  the  household  delighted. 

The  castle  floor  was  usually  of  brick  and  was  covered 
with  rushes  or  straw,  and  later  with  rugs  made  from  the 
skins  of  wild  animals.  Often  the  walls  were  covered 
with  tapestries  woven  by  the  ladies  of  the  household. 
These  pictured  scenes  from  history,  from  the  romantic 
tales  of  the  troubadours,  or  from  the  lives  of  the  saints. 

The  lord  of  the  castle  knew  little  of  refinement  or 
culture.     He  delighted  to  spend  his  time  in  hunting,  in 


284  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

fighting,  or  in  feasting.  He  was  as  brave  as  a  lion,  but 
generally  very  illiterate.  Rarely  could  he  read  or  write, 
and  seldom  were  books  to  be  found  in  his  home.  If 
there  was  an  occasional  book,  it  was  not  such  as  we 
have,  for  there  was  as  yet  no  printing.  If  written  man- 
uscripts were  to  be  found,  the  chances  were  that  no  one 
but  the  priest  could  read  them,  and  he  often  not  very 
well. 

If  such  rude  manners  was  the  condition  of  the  noble, 
what  must  have  been  that  of  the  common  man  ?  Down 
at  the  foot  of  the  castle  hill,  just  outside  the  wall,  stood 
their  homes,  huddled  together  into  a  small  town.  Poor 
huts  they  were,  without  any  conveniences.  Year  in  and 
year  out  they  worked  for  their  master,  and  into  their 
lives  came  little  knowledge  and  little  hope.  In  their 
midst  stood  the  little  church,  where  they  found  their  only 
help  to  higher  things. 

Whatever  there  was  of  splendor  was  in  the  castle. 
There  could  have  been  nothing  but  gloom  in  the  hut. 
No  reward  was  paid  for  labor.  Fighting  was  the  only 
worthy  occupation  in  the  eyes  of  the  noble.  The  serf 
must  work  not  only  to  maintain  his  own  miserable  life 
and  that  of  his  family,  but  to  furnish  food  for  the  lord 
and  his  family  as  well.  He  must  be  content  to  obey 
his  master.  He  must  cut  wood,  draw  water,  clean 
stables,  raise  the  crops  and  harvest  the  grain.  If  he 
failed  to  do  this,  the  dungeon  was  his  lot. 

Probably  the  most  interesting  person  in  the  whole 
feudal  society  was  the  knight.  He  differed  from  the 
ordinary  vassal  in  that  he  was  of  noble  birth  and  always 
fought  on  horseback.  He  was  truthful,  brave  and 
courteous.      With  his  coming,  many  of  the  rude  and 


HOW   THE   CASTLE   REFINED   THE   TEUTON      285 

barbarous  customs  of  the  rough  times  passed  away 
and  culture  slowly  took  their  place.  Already,  in  early 
times,  in  the  great  forest,  the  Teuton  loved  a  contest 
with  arms  and  paid  great  respect  to  women.  There, 
likewise,  bravery  and  respect  for  women  were  the  two 
great  virtues  of  the  knight.  In  an  age  when  violence 
was  frequent,  the  weak  and  oppressed  needed  a  de- 
fender.    The  chivalrous  knight  became  their  champion. 

Before  one  could  become  a  knight  he  must  spend  years 
in  preparation.  At  seven  he  was  called  a  page  and 
was  taught  obedience,  courtesy,  truthfulness,  respect  for 
women  and  reverence  for  the  church.  He  attended  the 
lord  and  his  lady  in  the  castle.  He  prepared  the  table 
for  the  meals  in  the  great  hall  and  waited  on  the  guests 
while  they  ate.  He  ran  errands  for  his  master  and  mis- 
tress. He  must  be  polite  and  courteous  to  the  guests  of 
the  castle.  He  was  taught  how  to  hunt,  how  to  ride 
and  how  to  pray,  and  occasionally  how  to  read.  He 
studied  music  and  chess  and  committed  to  memory  his 
long  list  of  Latin  rules  of  etiquette.  He  accompanied 
his  lady  on  the  hawking  trips,  sending  and  calling  back 
the  hawks.  But  above  all  he  imitated  the  conduct  of 
the  knights  about  him. 

At  fourteen  he  became  an  esquire.  Now  he  attended 
his  lord  in  battle,  carrying  his  weapons,  holding  his 
horse,  and  in  case  he  was  badly  needed,  he  joined  in  the 
fight.  At  the  castle  he  received  visitors  and  attended  to 
their  comforts.  He  was  taught  the  use  of  weapons  and 
became  a  skilled  horseman,  for  he  looked  forward  to  the 
day  when  he  was  to  become  a  knight. 

At  twenty-one  his  preparation  ended,  and  if  he  was 
thought  worthy  he  might  receive  the  honor  of  knighthood. 


286  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

Often  he  need  not  wait  so  long  as  that ;  for  if,  as  an 
esquire,  he  did  some  brave  deed  for  his  lord  on  the 
battlefield,  he  was  at  once  made  a  knight  for  his  reward. 
The  day  before  the  final  ceremony  the  candidate  purified 
himself  by  taking  a  bath.  Then  he  fasted  for  twenty- 
four  hours.  All  night  long  he  prayed  in  the  church  by 
himself  that  he  might  thus  become  free  from  sin.  What 
solemn  hours  those  must  have  been  for  him,  all  alone 
at  midnight  with  only  the  darkness  and  the  dim  light  of 
the  candles  about  him.  When  morning  came,  he  went 
to  mass  in  the  church.  After  that,  either  in  the  church 
or  at  the  castle,  a  noble  train  of  lords,  ladies  and 
knights  assembled  to  see  him  knighted.  The  priest 
blessed  the  sword  and  gave  it  to  him.  Golden  spurs 
were  buckled  on  his  feet.  He  was  covered  from  head  to 
foot  with  a  coat  of  mail  made  from  plates  of  steel  which 
no  lance  or  sword  could  penetrate.  A  plumed  helmet  was 
placed  on  his  head.  Then  the  lord  of  the  castle  said,  "  I 
make  thee  a  knight.  Be  valiant,  bold  and  loyal."  At 
the  same  time  he  tapped  him  three  times  on  the  shoulder 
with  a  sword,  and  he  was  no  longer  an  esquire.  Now  he 
longed  to  go  forth  with  steel-pointed  lance  and  metal 
shield  to  show  his  valor  on  the  field  of  battle  or  in  de- 
fense of  his  lady. 

The  organization  or  society  of  knighthood  which  I 
have  just  told  you  about  was  called  chivalry.  It  has  been 
called  the  "flower  of  the  Feudal  System."  It  changed 
and  softened  the  rude  manners  of  this  very  rough  and 
selfish  age.  As  good  conduct  and  Christianity  go  hand 
in  hand,  chivalry  may  be  said  to  have  gotten  much  from 
the  church  ;  and  in  turn,  since  the  knight  took  an  oath 
to  defend  the  church,  chivalry  came  to  be  its  valiant 


HOW   THE   CASTLE    REFINED    THE   TEUTON       287 

defender.  Next  year  when  we  study  the  Crusades,  we 
shall  see  how  the  knight  left  his  home  to  go  on  the  long 
and  dangerous  journey  to  the  Holy  Land  for  the  pur- 
pose of  taking  it  from  the  Mohammedan  Turks  and  re- 
storing it  to  Christian  hands. 

At  home  the  knights  delighted  in  contests  where 
their  skill  and  valor  could  be  shown  in  the  presence  of 
the  ladies  they  loved.  Of  these  contests  the  tourna- 
ment easily  came  first  in  importance.  The  rich  trap- 
pings of  the  horses,  the  brilliant  clothing  worn  by  the 
assembled  nobles  and  their  attending  train  made  a  spec- 
tacle of  rare  beauty,  splendor  and  gayety.  Heralds, 
sent  out  by  the  lord  far  and  wide  over  his  own  dominions 
and  to  the  neighboring  castles,  announced  the  contest. 
Brave  knights  came  from  distant  lands  to  match  their 
skill  with  others,  and,  what  was  much  more,  to  win  the 
praise  and  favor  of  their  lady-loves. 

Like  the  Olympic  games  of  Greece,  the  tournament 
was  a  contest  of  honor,  and  the  conditions  of  entrance 
were  carefully  guarded.  No  knight  who  had  at  any  time 
been  guilty  of  crime,  or  had  offended  a  lady,  or  had 
violated  his  word,  or  had  taken  an  unfair  advantage  of 
his  enemy  in  battle  could  enter,  for  purity,  honor,  truth- 
fulness and  fair-dealing  were  the  highest  marks  of 
chivalry  and  the  gentleman. 

The  field  of  combat  in  the  tournament  was  prepared 
in  front  of  the  castle.  A  level  space  was  marked  off 
by  railing  or  by  ropes  and  surrounded  by  galleries, 
decorated  with  banners,  tapestries  and  the  emblems  of 
the  contending  knights.  The  contest  itself  was  a  mimic 
battle,  and  took  place  on  horseback.  When  the  time 
arrived  for  it  to  begin,  heralds  announced  the  rules,  and 


288  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

the  knights  took  their  places.  At  a  given  signal  the 
opposing  parties  of  knights  with  poised  lances  dashed 
fiercely  at  each  other.  Victory  belonged  to  those  who 
unhorsed  their  antagonists  or  kept  off  and  broke,  ac- 
cording to  the  rules,  the  greatest  number  of  lances. 

There  were  always  prizes  for  the  victors,  such  as 
jewels,  gifts  of  armor,  or  horses  decked  with  knightly 
trappings ;  but  to  the  knight  more  dear  than  all  else 
was  the  praise  and  favor  which  he  was  sure  to  win  from 
his  lady-love.  These  contests  were  rough  and  danger- 
ous. It  was  not  an  unusual  thing  for  the  bravest  to 
be  carried  dead  from  the  field.  The  killing  of  King 
Henry  II  of  France,  1559  a.d.,  in  one  of  these  contests 
went  far  toward  doing  away  with  them. 

But  not  all  of  the  knightly  contests  were  mimic 
battles  like  the  tournament.  Through  the  castle  gates 
trains  of  knights  with  lances  set,  spurs  on  heel,  and 
plumes  on  helmet  crest,  rode  forth  to  real  battle. 
Maybe  some  neighboring  lord  had  given  offense  by  act 
or  word ;  or  maybe  it  was  only  love  of  plunder  that 
called  forth  the  expedition. 

Anxious  hearts  in  the  castle  awaited  the  return. 
Maybe  it  brought  captured  banners,  booty  and  spoils  of 
war,  or  perhaps  a  rival  chief  in  chains,  or  maybe  no 
knights  came  back.  Instead  came  the  breathless  mes- 
senger, covered  with  dust  and  blood,  who  told  in  broken 
voice  of  a  battle  lost,  of  riderless  horses,  of  gallant  war- 
riors lying  dead  on  the  field,  and  of  the  fierce  enemy's 
near  approach  upon  the  castle.  If  the  latter  were  the 
case,  the  grief  and  woe  were  forgotten  in  the  hurried 
preparation  made  for  defending  the  castle  as  the  enemy 
gathered  and  attempted  to  scale  or  beat  down  the  walls. 


HOW   THE   CASTLE   REFINED   THE   TEUTON       289 

The  castle  had  to  be  very  strong  to  withstand  the 
enemy's  assaults,  for  there  was  not  a  place  or  means  of 
defense  that  he  did  not  know  how  to  attack.  If  the 
siege  were  long,  the  enemy  emptied  the  moat  of  its 
water  and  filled  it  with  earth.  Huge  rams  made  of  the 
largest  forest  trees,  fitted  with  enormous  iron  heads  and 
mounted  by  chains  on  a  great  frame-work,  beat  against 
the  mortar  and  stone,  trying  to  force  an  entrance  through 
the  wall.  Massive  poles,  tipped  with  sharp  iron  points, 
tried  to  pick  out  stones  and  mortar.  Mines  were  dug 
under  the  great  wall  in  the  hope  that  it  would  fall.  The 
catapult  —  a  machine  for  throwing  heavy  objects  — 
hurled  great  darts,  rocks  and  huge  balls  of  lead  at  the 
men  on  the  walls.  Assaults  were  made  and  repulsed 
amid  the  shouts  of  the  living  and  the  groans  of  the  dying. 
Wives  and  daughters  and  children  in  the  keep  watched 
the  contest  with  blanched  cheeks,  or  with  true  Teutonic 
courage  cheered  the  warriors  on. 

If  the  enemy  was  beaten  back,  the  castle  forces  pur- 
sued them.  Slaughter  and  revenge  surely  followed,  and 
the  troubadour  celebrated  the  victory  in  the  banquet 
hall  in  a  new  song.  If  the  castle  was  too  weak  to  resist, 
and  the  enemy  succeeded  in  breaking  down  the  wall, 
there  was  a  rush  for  the  keep,  where  the  last  clash  of 
arms  and  struggle  of  brave  knights  decided  the  day. 
If  the  keep  was  taken,  foes  rushed  in,  sword  and  torch 
in  hand.  The  castle  was  plundered  from  top  to  bottom, 
the  women  were  slain,  the  torch  was  applied,  and  as  the 
victors  rode  away  nothing  was  left  but  a  ruined  pile  of 
stones  to  mark  the  place.  Such  was  the  brutality  of 
warfare  in  those  days  when  men  fought  hand  to  hand 
in  mortal  combat. 


290  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

But  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  feudalism 
began  to  decay.  Through  the  influence  largely  of  the 
Crusades,  which  we  shall  study  next  year,  free  cities 
began  to  spring  up,  and  to  be  as  powerful  as  the  feudal 
lords  and  feudal  armies.  The  common  man  began  to 
feel  that  it  was  better  to  be  a  freeman  in  the  city  than 
to  be  a  vassal  to  a  lord.  Gunpowder,  first  used  in  fire- 
arms in  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  soon  made 
the  common  man  equal  in  war  to  the  armored  lord,  — 
for  a  gun  in  the  hands  of  a  commoner  was  as  effective 
as  one  in  the  hands  of  the  lord.  Castle  walls  which 
had  thousands  of  times  given  safe  protection  to  the 
plundering  lord  from  the  bows  and  arrows  of  the  out- 
raged serf,  could  be  battered  to  flinders  in  a  few  hours 
with  the  coming  of  gunpowder  and  the  cannon  ball. 

But  although  feudalism  like  monasticism  finally  de- 
cayed, the  spirit  of  freedom  and  chivalrous  knighthood 
which  it  produced  in  Europe  went  on  growing,  not 
alone  in  the  castle,  but  slowly  extending  to  the  house  and 
hut  of  every  man.  Feudalism  did  not  produce  a  society 
in  which  the  comforts,  pleasures  and  beauties  of  life 
were  immediately  given  out  to  all,  to  common  people  as 
well  as  the  noble,  but  rather  one  in  which  they  were 
held  by  the  few.  The  millions  of  serfs  toiled,  that  the 
thousands  of  knights  might  hunt,  and  fight,  and  revel  in 
their  castles.  But  to  have  a  few  free,  brave,  chivalrous 
men  was  better  than  to  have  none.  It  was  vastly  better 
to  have  a  life  of  refinement  around  and  in  the  castle 
than  to  have  the  whole  body  of  Teutons  remain  rude 
and  coarse,  as  they  were  when  we  first  saw  them  in  the 
German  woods.  Feudalism  was  a  government  and  so- 
ciety of  the  lords,  for  the  lords,  and  by  the  lords,  and 


HOW   THE   CASTLE   REFINED   THE   TEUTON       291 

this  was  a  great  step  forward  from  a  government  of  a 
despot,  by  a  despot,  and  for  a  despot,  such  as  were  the 
governments  of  olden  times.  But  it  was  not  as  good  as 
a  government  "  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the 
people,"  to  which  we  are  finally  coming.  But  the  free- 
dom of  the  few  in  feudalism  helped  to  work  out  the 
freedom  for  all  in  democracy.  Thus  did  feudalism 
give  the  Teuton  the  ideal  of  a  brave  man  and  true  gen- 
tleman, as  the  monastery  gave  him  the  ideal  of  a  life  of 
sacrifice  and  service.  These  seeds  will  grow  till  it  will 
be  seen  that  all  persons  may  become  noble  by  being 
gentle  and  brave,  and  that  each  one  may  serve  God 
acceptably  by  unselfishly  serving  his  fellow-men. 

References 

See  articles  on  Feudalism  and  Chivalry  in  good  cyclopedias. 

Duruy  :  The  History  of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  Holt  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

Emerton  :  Mediaeval  Europe  ;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 

Thatcher  and  Schwill  :  History  of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  Scribner's  Sons, 
N.Y. 

Myers  :  Mediaeval  and  Modern  History ;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 

Lacroix :  Military  and  Religious  Life  of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  Appleton 
&  Co.,  N.Y. 

Guizot  :  History  of  Civilization  in  Europe  ;  Appleton  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

Kemp  :  Outlines  of  History  for  District  and  Graded  Schools ;  Ginn 
&  Co.,  Boston. 

Study  the  biographies  of  Charlemagne,  Alfred,  William  I  of  Eng- 
land, Richard  I  of  England,  Warwick  ;  Henry  IV  and  Frederick 
Barbarossa  of  Germany  ;  Louis  IX  of  France ;  Joan  of  Arc. 


SIXTH-GRADE   WORK 

The  aim  of  the  sixth  grade  is  to  give  a  general  view  of  those 
great  movements  and  agencies  by  which  western  Europe  traveled 
back  over  the  old  historical  road  of  the  past,  and  came  in  contact 
with  the  East,  —  the  early  home  of  civilization.  By  this  means  it 
came  to  understand  and  appreciate  the  past,  took  it  up  slowly  and 
built  it  into  its  own  life,  and  thus  made  a  broader  foundation  upon 
which  western  Europe  developed  a  richer  and  more  complex  civili- 
zation than  any  which  had  gone  before. 

The  subjects  presented  are  :  — 

i.  The  Crusades,  which  united  the  peoples  of  western  Europe  in 
their  first  great  enterprise,  and  re-opened  the  historical  roadways  to 
the  arts,  the  ideas  and  the  luxuries  of  the  East. 

2.  The  Renascence,  which  opened  their  eyes  to  the  beauty  of 
Greece  and  Rome,  and  broadened  their  horizon  from  the  narrow 
limits  of  the  monastic  cell  and  the  monotonous  life  of  the  monastery, 
to  the  extensive  views  gained  by  travel  and  the  study  of  the  classi- 
cal world. 

3.  The  growth  of  the  English  Parliament,  which  was  the  great 
agent  through  which  the  Teuton  developed  the  principle  of  self-gov- 
ernment, and  thus  saved  for  himself  and  the  modern  world  that  price- 
less principle  of  personal  liberty  which  we  saw  in  germ  in  our  study 
in  the  fifth  grade  when  we  first  studied  the  Teuton  in  his  forest  home. 

4.  The  Reformation,  which  enabled  the  Teuton  to  develop  the 
same  self-reliance  and  independence  in  religion  which  the  Parliament 
made  possible  in  government,  and  enabled  him  to  enjoy  freedom  of 
religious  worship  as  the  Parliament  enabled  him  to  enjoy  freedom 
of  political  discussion. 

Finally,  as  a  preparation  for  the  seventh-grade  work,  the  teacher 
should  enable  the  pupil  to  see  which  one  of  the  great  western  Euro- 
pean nations  —  Spain,  France,  or  England  —  was  most  fully  adopt- 
ing the  new  ideas  and  building  them  into  their  institutions,  and 
hence  which  one  would  be  most  able  to  bring  new  ideas  to  the  New 
World,  when  it  was  spread  out  to  view  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century  and  invited  the  new-bursting  seed  of  Europe  to  its  virgin  soil. 

292 


THE  CRUSADES,  AND  HOW  THE  THOUGHT 
OF  EUROPE  WAS  ENLARGED  THROUGH 
THEM. 

IO96-I276  A.D. 

During  the  period  from  about  1100  to  1300  a.d.,  the 
Crusade  movements  eastward  were  going  on.  In  all  our 
study  through  the  grades  up  to  this  time  we  have  seen 
the  stream  of  history  gradually  flowing  westward  setting 
up  and  overturning  great  nations  and  cities;  but  now 
for  a  time  the  direction  is  changed,  and  thousands  of 
people  go  back  to  Asia  over  the  same  ways  and  routes 
that  the  Eastern  people  had  used  in  entering  Europe. 
The  immediate  cause  of  the  Crusade  movement  was 
the  harsh  treatment  received  by  the  Christian  pil- 
grims when  they  went  to  visit  the  sepulcher  of  Christ 
in  Jerusalem.  The  religion  of  the  people  who  held 
Jerusalem  and  all  southwestern  Asia  at  this  time  was 
the  Mohammedan.  The  Mohammedans,  who  arose 
in  Arabia  under  Mohammed,  in  622,  had  been  busy 
conquering  the  inhabitants  of  all  southwestern  Asia 
until  about  750  a.d.,  when  there  was  little  more  left 
in  that  region  for  them  to  conquer.  Then  they  set 
to  work  to  learn  the  ideas  of  medicine,  philosophy, 
sculpture,  painting,  architecture  and  literature,  which 
had  been  spread  out  over  this  country  centuries 
before  by  the  Greeks  under  Alexander,  and  further 
developed  by  the  Persians.      By  the  time  of  the  Cru- 

293 


294  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

sades,  the  Mohammedans  were  the  best  educated  people 
in  the  world,  knowing  much  more  about  science,  phi- 
losophy, medicine,  commerce  and  art  than  did  the 
Teutons,  of  western  Europe,  whom  we  have  already- 
been  studying  about.  As  they  became  well  educated, 
they  became  less  fierce  and  warlike,  and  began  to  toler- 
ate other  religions  besides  their  own,  so  that  when  the 
pilgrims  from  Europe  began  to  go  much  to  Jerusalem 
to  worship,  in  the  ninth,  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries, 
the  Mohammedans  received  them  kindly  and  let  them 
travel  back  and  forth  unmolested.  Jerusalem,  as  you 
can  readily  see,  was  a  very  sacred  city  in  the  eyes  of 
the  Christians,  because  it  was  the  place  where  Christ 
walked  and  talked  and  worked  with  men,  and  contained 
his  sepulcher  and  many  things  connected  with  his  min- 
istry. An  old  poet,  writing  of  Jerusalem  at  that  time, 
said :  "  She  is  chosen  and  hallowed  by  the  Almighty. 
She  attracts  the  faithful  as  the  magnet  attracts  the 
steel,  as  the  mother-sheep  attracts  the  lamb  with  its 
milk,  as  the  sea  attracts  the  river  to  which  it  has  given 
birth." 

We  have  already  seen  how  the  monks  in  the  monas- 
teries valued  the  relics  of  departed  saints  and  used  them 
both  in  religious  worship  and  as  a  means  of  curing 
disease.  These  journeys  to  the  tomb  of  Christ  were 
partly  the  outgrowth  of  the  great  reverence  the  people 
of  western  Europe  had  come  to  have  for  sacred  relics 
and  sacred  places.  By  worshiping  at  the  tomb  of  Christ 
they  hoped  to  be  forgiven  for  their  sins,  even  if  they 
had  been  very  great.  Then,  any  sacred  relic  which 
they  might  secure  and  bring  home  was  of  so  much 
spiritual  value  that  pilgrims  were  willing  to  undertake 


THE   CRUSADES  295 

hard  trips  for  that  object  alone.  Some  pilgrims,  however, 
did  not  have  any  great  desire  for  these  things  but  went 
chiefly  because  they  loved  travel,  like  their  early  Teu- 
tonic ancestors,  or  because  they  hoped  to  gain  large 
fortunes  by  carrying  on  trade  with  the  East.  So,  for 
many  years  before  the  real  Crusades  began,  one  could 
have  seen  weary  travelers,  generally  on  foot,  with  wallet 
on  back  and  staff  in  hand  going  back  and  forth  on  the 
roads,  to  and  from  the  Holy  Land. 

Since  there  were  no  hotels  in  that  day,  the  Christians 
built  churches  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  established  con- 
vents, and  organized  hospitals  along  the  road  for  the  sick 
and  wounded,  and  built  houses,  so  that  any  one  arriving 
there  helpless  might  have  food  and  shelter.  Those  who 
took  charge  of  the  pilgrims  and  saw  that  they  received 
comfort  and  protection,  organized  themselves  into  great 
military  orders,  and  finally  became  very  wealthy.  They 
were  thus  able  to  build  immense  forts  as  well  as  hos- 
pitals along  the  roads  and  in  the  Holy  Land.  The  three 
great  orders  of  monks  were  called  the  Knights  of  St. 
John,  the  Knights  of  the  Temple  and  the  Teutonic 
Knights.  In  addition  to  the  three  vows  which  all 
monks  took,  these  knights  took  an  oath  which  bound 
them  to  fight  the  infidels,  as  they  called  the  Mohamme- 
dans, and  to  protect  the  pilgrims. 

But  the  peaceful  state  of  affairs  existing  during  the 
ninth,  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries  between  the  Chris- 
tians and  Mohammedans,  under  which  pilgrims  were 
allowed  by  the  Mohammedans  to  travel  freely  through 
the  Holy  Land,  finally  changed.  A  horde  of  Turks, 
fierce,  ignorant  and  cruel,  came  sweeping  south-west- 
ward through  the  mountain  passes  from  Central  Asia, 


296  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

and  rapidly  conquered  Persia,  Syria,  Egypt  and  Pales- 
tine, and  took  Jerusalem  into  their  possession.  They  be- 
came Mohammedans  in  religion,  but  being  of  the  yellow 
race  and  ignorant,  and  caring  little  for  the  necessaries 
and  nothing  for  the  luxuries  of  life,  they  soon  destroyed 
the  greater  part  of  the  fine  civilization  built  up  by  the 
Arabs,  and  above  all  things  desired  to  destroy  every  root 
and  branch  of  the  Christian  religion  which  had  been 
planted  in  the  East  by  the  monks  and  pilgrims.  Thus 
it  came  about  that  the  Christians  could  no  longer  go  on 
their  pilgrimages  undisturbed.  They  were  not  only  in 
danger  from  the  Turks  while  passing  through  the  coun- 
try of  Asia  Minor  and  Syria  on  the  way  to  Jerusalem,  but 
they  knew  no  safety  after  they  arrived  there ;  for  the 
Turks  had  taken  possession  of  the  Christian  churches, 
destroyed  many  of  the  relics  of  the  saints,  and  sought  to 
compel  the  Christians  to  accept  the  teachings  of  Mo- 
hammed. The  stories  carried  back  to  Europe  by  return- 
ing pilgrims  of  cruel  treatment  to  themselves  and 
hateful  treatment  of  the  sacred  places,  was  slowly 
kindling  a  fire  in  the  Teutonic  heart  of  western  Europe 
which  after  smoldering  awhile  will,  if  fanned,  burst  forth 
with  mighty  flame. 

Just  at  the  time  when  the  Christians  of  Europe  were 
being  stirred  by  the  stories  and  preaching  of  the  indig- 
nant pilgrims,  the  Turks  began  to  move  farther  westward 
into  Asia  Minor  and  to  attack  the  lands  of  the  eastern 
Roman  Empire  with  its  capital  at  Constantinople.  The 
emperor,  unable  to  defeat  them  with  his  troops,  called 
for  help  from  the  West.  At  this  time  the  head  of  the 
Christian  Church  was  Pope  Urban  II.  He  felt  that  the 
time  had  come  when   the   hot   embers   of  indignation 


THE   CRUSADES  297 

smoldering  in  the  chivalric  heart  of  Europe  might  be 
fanned  into  a  flame.  In  the  autumn  of  1095  he  called 
together  a  great  throng  of  people  at  Placentia  in  north- 
ern Italy,  which  he  addressed  and  inspired  with  enthusi- 
asm to  go  to  the  East  and  battle  against  the  Turk. 
From  Placentia  he  crossed  the  Alps  and  went  to  his 
old  home  at  Clermont,  in  southern  France.  Now  he  was 
in  the  home  also  of  the  Franks  —  the  bravest,  most  im- 
aginative and  most  knightly  of  all  the  Teutonic  people. 
Here  a  council  was  called  which  was  so  largely  attended 
by  bishops,  monks  and  ordinary  members  of  the  church 
that  no  hall  in  the  town  could  be  found  large  enough  to 
hold  them.  Urban  mounted  a  lofty  scaffold  in  the  open 
air  and  addressed  the  vast  throng  of  people.  He  told 
them  that  the  Turks  were  cowards,  that  success  was 
therefore  sure  to  the  brave  Frank  who  went  against 
him ;  that  they  would  not  only  win  success,  but  gain  a 
vastly  higher  blessing  —  forgiveness  of  ftieir  sins;  that 
they  might  have  to  suffer  pain  and  tortures  of  body,  but 
that  these  would  only  the  more  certainly  gain  salvation 
for  their  souls.  "Go,  then,"  he  said,  "on  your  errand  of 
love,  which  will  put  out  of  sight  all  the  ties  that  bind  you 
to  the  spots  which  you  have  called  your  homes.  Your 
homes,  in  truth,  they  are  not.  For  the  Christian  all  the 
world  is  exile,  and  all  the  world  is  at  the  same  time  his 
country.  If  you  have  a  rich  patrimony  here,  a  better 
patrimony  awaits  you  in  the  Holy  Land.  They  who  die 
will  enter  the  mansions  of  heaven,  while  the  living 
shall  pay  their  vows  before  the  sepulcher  of  their  Lord. 
Blessed  are  they  who,  taking  this  vow  upon  them,  shall 
obtain  such  a  recompense  ;  happy  they  who  are  led  to 
such  a  conflict  that  they  may  share  in  such  rewards." 


298  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

When  the  Pope  shouted  the  passionate  and  eloquent 
words,  "  It  is  the  will  of  God,  it  is  the  will  of  God,"  the 
vast  throng  broke  in  with  one  voice  upon  his  words,  and 
shouted  again,  "  It  is  indeed  the  will  of  God."  Then 
the  Pope  continued :  "  Let  these  words  be  your  war-cry 
when  you  find  yourselves  in  presence  of  the  enemy. 
You  are  soldiers  of  the  cross ;  wear,  then,  on  your 
breasts,  or  on  your  shoulders,  the  blood-red  sign  of  Him 
who  died  for  the  salvation  of  your  souls." 

Thousands  eagerly  pressed  upon  him  when  he  ceased 
speaking,  and  took  the  vow  to  go  on  the  crusade,  and 
received  from  his  hand  the  sign  —  a  red  cross,  which 
was  fastened  from  the  right  shoulder  diagonally  across 
the  breast.  Urban  then  put  the  property  of  the  Cru- 
saders under  the  care  of  the  Church,  prohibited  all 
private  war,  offered  great  spiritual  rewards  to  those 
who  would  take  up  the  movement,  and  commanded  the 
clergy  to  preach  the  crusade  in  all  parts  of  France. 

Among  the  many  who  went  forth  to  preach  the 
crusade  was  a  dwarfish,  ungainly  monk,  called  Peter  the 
Hermit.  He  was  active,  restless  and  enthusiastic,  had 
no  doubt  often  heard  the  stories  of  the  cruel  treatment 
of  the  pilgrims,  and  may  have  heard  the  eloquent  ser- 
mon of  Urban  at  Clermont. 

Riding  on  a  mule,  bare  headed,  with  naked  feet, 
starved  countenance,  flashing  eye,  wearing  a  coarse  gar- 
ment bound  with  a  girdle  of  cords,  Peter  went  among 
the  peoples  of  France  and  Germany,  whom  we  have 
seen  in  the  fifth  grade  to  be  so  full  of  vigor  and  life,  and 
told  his  burning  tale.  Before  many  months  had  passed, 
fifteen  thousand  people,  mostly  ignorant  and  poor,  were 
flocking  at  his  back,  begging  to  be  led  to  the  Holy  Land. 


THE   CRUSADES  299 

Peter  readily  consented  to  lead  them.  The  mass  of 
people  who  thus  started  out  was  so  great  and  so  much 
like  an  unruly  mob  that  they  were  divided  into  two 
divisions.  One  was  led  by  Peter  the  Hermit,  the  other 
by  a  poor  warrior  called  Walter  the  Penniless.  With 
practically  no  preparation  the  army  (if  army  it  could  be 
called)  began  its  march  overland  to  Jerusalem.  It  was 
composed  of  men,  women  and  children  of  all  sizes,  ages 
and  conditions  of  health.  Some  of  the  most  fanatical 
women  were  dressed  as  men  and  went  as  fighters ; 
others  went  as  nurses,  to  give  medicine  and  solace  to  the 
thousands  who  sickened  and  died  from  hunger  and 
disease  on  the  way.  Whole  families  undertook  the 
journey,  taking  with  them  the  children,  the  sick  and  the 
aged.  With  no  provisions,  few  arms  and  no  discipline, 
trusting  everything  to  God,  the  rabble  straggled  along, 
Walter  the  Penniless  going  in  advance  with  30,000  or 
40,000  people,  and  Peter  the  Hermit  following  with  an 
army  that  increased  as  he  went  along  to  between  80,000 
and  100,000  people.  It  is  a  pitiable  sight,  but  it  is  an 
early  effort  of  the  common  people. 

On  making  their  way  toward  Constantinople,  the 
army  marched  through  the  country  of  the  Bulgarians  and 
Hungarians,  who  had  but  lately  been  converted  to 
Christianity.  These  people  were  wild  and  savage  and 
could  but  feebly  understand  or  realize  what  Christ's 
teachings  meant.  When  Walter  led  his  army  through 
their  country,  he  tried  to  keep  the  Crusaders  from 
stealing  and  destroying  the  farm  products ;  but  as  they 
had  no  food,  and  as  the  inhabitants  were  unwilling  to 
furnish  provisions,  the  Crusaders  helped  themselves,  no 
doubt  needlessly  destroying  property  and  killing  some 


300  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

of  the  people  who  were  not  willing  to  provide  them  with 
supplies.  This  angered  the  inhabitants,  and  they  in 
turn  killed  many  of  the  Crusaders.  Walter,  however, 
pressed  forward  toward  Constantinople,  and  finally 
reached  it  with  the  merest  handful  of  those  who  had  set 
out  on  the  march.  Peter  the  Hermit  and  his  followers, 
finding  the  dead  bodies  of  their  companions  along  the 
roadside,  made  war  on  the  inhabitants  in  the  countries 
through  which  they  passed,  only  to  be  defeated  and 
left  dead,  wounded  and  dying,  along  the  roadside.  Of 
about  two  hundred  thousand  who  made  up  Peter's  and 
Walter's  straggling  bands  from  first  to  last,  it  is  said 
only  about  seven  thousand  reached  Constantinople. 
This  fragment  attempted  to  go  on  to  Jerusalem,  but  they 
had  not  gone  far  into  Asia  Minor  before  they  quarreled 
with  Walter,  refused  to  obey  him,  and  were  soon 
entirely  destroyed  by  the  Turks,  Walter  and  a  few 
others  returning  to  Europe. 

The  armies  in  the  West  had  in  the  meantime,  during 
the  winter  and  spring  after  the  great  sermon  of  Pope 
Urban,  been  making  careful  preparation  for  the  march. 
Commanders,  armor,  implements  of  warfare,  and  pro- 
visions had  all  been  fairly  well  provided.  The  body  of 
the  army  came  from  all  parts  of  France  and  southern 
Italy,  Germany  furnishing  very  few  warriors  in  the 
beginning  of  the  Crusades,  because  the  Pope  and  the 
German  emperor  were  quarreling  with  each  other,  and 
Spain  kept  her  troops  at  home  to  fight  the  Moors.  The 
marching  army  in  the  time  of  the  Crusades  was  divided 
into  two  large  classes,  —  the  mounted  soldiers  and  those 
on  foot.  Kings,  princes,  barons,  nobles  and  knights  be- 
longed to  the  first  class ;    common  laborers,  vassals  and 


THE   CRUSADES  301 

monks,  to  the  second.  There  were  always  with  the 
Crusaders,  likewise,  some  old  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, who  marched  with  the  second  class.  All  the 
warriors  wore  armor,  and  carried  various  kinds  of  imple- 
ments of  warfare. 

Now  that  we  see  one  of  the  great  armies  ready  for 
the  march  in  the  spring  of  1096,  let  us  see  something 
of  the  implements  of  warfare  they  carried  with  them. 
These  were  of  two  classes  :  first,  those  used  with  which 
to  attack,  and  second,  those  with  which  to  defend ;  the 
first  was  called  offensive,  and  the  second  defensive, 
arms.  The  offensive  were  those  used  for  slaying  the 
enemy,  the  defensive  those  for  protection  against  the 
enemy's  attack. 

The  offensive  arms,  at  first  used  by  the  cavalry,  were 
the  lance,  sword,  dagger,  battle-ax  and  club.  The 
lance  was  a  smooth  pole,  or  staff,  about  eleven  feet  long, 
tapering  from  the  handle  to  a  rather  blunt  point.  It 
was  used  in  making  charges  upon  the  ranks  of  the 
enemy.  The  sword  was  made  of  the  hardest  of  steel, 
and,  counting  the  handle,  or  hilt,  was  about  the  length 
of  a  man's  cane.  The  blade  was  sharp  on  both  edges, 
and  came  abruptly  to  a  point  at  the  end.  When  not  in 
use,  the  sword  hung  from  a  belt  in  a  steel  case  called 
a  sheath  or  scabbard.  They  learned  from  the  Arabs 
how  to  make  their  best  swords.  The  daggers  were  also 
made  of  steel,  and  looked  like  those  of  to-day.  The 
battle-ax  had  a  handle  somewhat  longer  than  our  hatchet 
handle,  and  the  cutting  edge  was  crescent  shaped.  That 
part  which  corresponded  to  the  part  of  the  hatchet 
we  use  to  drive  nails  with,  usually  ended  in  a  sharp 
point,  and  the  end  of  the  handle  farthest  from  the  hand 


302  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

often  ended  in  a  spear-head.  The  club  resembled  a 
policeman's  club,  though  perhaps  a  little  longer. 

The  weapons  of  the  foot  soldier  were  the  same  as 
those  of  the  horseman,  except  he  had  no  lance.  The 
sword  and  ax  were  used  by  both  foot  soldier  and  horse- 
man. The  archer  carried  a  sling,  ax,  bow,  and  a  quiver 
containing  forty  arrows.  Besides  these  arms,  the  spear, 
mace  and  flail  were  sometimes  used.  The  spear  was 
very  long,  ending  in  a  sharp,  triangular  iron  point  like 
an  arrowhead.  It  was  used  by  the  foot  soldier  in  mak- 
ing a  charge.  The  mace  was  a  round  stick  ending  in  a 
piece  of  iron  which  had  thorn-like  projections  upon  it. 
It  was  wielded  like  the  battle-ax.  The  flail  was  made 
of  a  number  of  iron  balls  studded  with  points  like  those 
on  the  mace.  These  were  fastened  to  a  strong  handle 
by  means  of  small  chains.  This  weapon  was  used  like 
a  whip,  and  you  can  see  how  cruel  it  must  have  seemed 
when  used. 

After  the  Crusaders  gained  some  experience  in  fight- 
ing, they  did  away  with  the  sling  and  began  to  use 
the  crossbow,  which  they  learned  how  to  use  from  the 
Turks.  This  became  one  of  the  chief  weapons  in  the 
later  Crusades.  It  was  much  like  an  ordinary  bow 
which  boys  make  now,  with  a  wooden  stock  fastened 
at  right-angles  to  the  bow.  By  means  of  this  stock,  the 
bowstring  could  be  stretched  much  more  tightly,  and 
thus  the  arrow  could  be  shot  farther,  straighter,  and  with 
far  greater  force.  All  except  the  horseman  used  it,  and 
it  tended  to  put  the  archer,  or  peasant,  on  an  equal  foot- 
ing with  the  horseman. 

The  warriors  carried  most  of  these  arms  in  their  belts, 
as  hunters  carry  their  cartridges  nowadays. 


THE  CRUSADES  303 

Now,  having  seen  something  of  the  arms  with  which 
they  attacked  the  enemy,  let  us  look  at  the  arms  with 
which  they  defended  themselves. 

Throughout  all  the  ranks  of  the  army,  every  warrior 
had  some  sort  of  protection  for  the  head.  In  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Crusades  it  was  an  iron  or  steel  cap, 
much  like  a  scull  cap,  which  came  down  to  the  eye- 
brows in  front  and  had  a  projection  which  covered  the 
nose.  Often  the  archer  had  no  further  armor,  but 
sometimes  he  had  padded  armor,  made  of  cotton  or 
cloth  quilted  to  a  leathern  or  canvas  shirt,  and  covered 
with  linen  or  silk. 

Both  foot  soldier  and  horseman  wore  a  hauberk.  This 
was  a  coat  of  mail  coming  to  the  knees,  and  made  either 
of  little  iron  plates  about  the  size  of  a  man's  palm  sewed 
to  a  leather  coat,  or  it  was  sometimes  woven  of  chain. 
The  hauberk  came  up  to  the  edge  of  the  cap,  thus  pro- 
tecting the  neck  and  all  of  the  head  except  the  face. 

As  the  Crusades  continued,  the  helmet  was  made  as 
a  covering  for  the  entire  head.  That  part  covering  the 
face  was  the  visor,  and  could  be  raised  or  lowered  over 
the  face  at  will.  It  had  a  slit  to  see  through,  and 
another  to  breathe  through. 

The  hauberk,  or  coat  of  mail,  was  gradually  replaced 
by  a  complete  suit  of  armor  which  protected  every  part 
of  the  body.  This  armor  was  made  in  many  pieces, 
each  piece  having  a  name,  and  there  were  joints  in  the 
armor  at  the  elbow,  knee,  ankle,  wrist,  fingers,  shoulders, 
hips,  etc.  The  parts  covering  the  hand  and  wrist  taken 
together  was  called  the  gauntlet.  The  parts  covering 
the  body  taken  together  was  called  the  corselet,  and 
those  of  the  head,  the  helmet. 


304  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

The  shield  finished  the  warrior's  defensive  outfit.  It 
was  usually  jround  and  about  two  and  a  half  feet  in 
diameter,  though  it  was  sometimes  of  other  shapes  and 
sizes.  It  was  always  slightly  convex,  that  is,  it  bulged 
outward  in  the  center,  so  that  the  arrow,  sword,  spear, 
etc.,  striking  it,  would  glance  off.  It  was  fastened  to  the 
left  arm  by  a  leathern  band. 

Horses  as  well  as  men  were  clothed  in  armor.  They 
had  iron  or  steel  plates  to  protect  their  heads  and 
chests.  Such  were  the  arms  the  Crusaders  used,  during 
their  two  hundred  years'  struggle  with  the  Turks :  you 
can  see  pictures  of  nearly  all  of  the  parts  of  armor  in 
some  of  the  unabridged  dictionaries. 

But  we  left  the  army  just  ready  to  begin  its  march, 
in  the  spring  of  1096;  let  us  now  return  and  see  it  on 
its  way  to  Jerusalem. 

The  first  division  of  the  army  went  entirely  by  land, 
passing  eastward  by  Constantinople,  thence  across 
the  Bosphorus,  thence  eastward  through  Asia  Minor, 
and  southward  to  Jerusalem.  On  account  of  the 
heat  while  on  the  march,  there  was  intense  suffering 
and  disease,  hundreds  dying  from  hunger  and  thirst. 
Many  times  on  the  march  they  passed  through  vast 
regions  of  the  country  in  which  all  the  provisions  had 
been  destroyed  by  the  Turks ;  often  they  stopped  for 
months  to  lay  siege  to  a  city,  finally  either  overcoming 
it  by  starving  the  inhabitants  into  surrendering,  or  by 
getting  into  the  city  by  one  of  the  various  means  of 
attacking  the  walls,  and  then  overcoming  the  inhabit- 
ants. Let  us  see  something  of  the  way  the  Crusaders 
attacked  a  city. 

In  the  first  place  you  must  know  that  the  city  to  be 


THE  CRUSADES  305 

attacked  was  inclosed  by  a  high  and  thick  stone  wall, 
say  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  thick,  and  guarded  by  armed 
men.  If  the  Crusaders  were  strong  enough  in  numbers, 
they  surrounded  and  attacked  it  at  different  points  at 
the  same  time,  so  as  to  divide  the  force  within.  They 
were  armed  generally  with  bows.  With  these  they  tried 
to  drive  the  guards  from  the  walls.  The  other  means 
used  they  did  not  generally  take  along  with  them,  but 
made  them  when  they  were  needed.  If  the  walls  of 
the  attacked  city  were  not  too  high,  they  made  a  great 
many  ladders,  and  by  going  in  large  numbers  tried  to 
set  them  against  the  walls,  climb  them,  and  drive  off  the 
guards.  But  the  guards  on  the  walls,  generally  on  the 
sharpest  watch,  threw  down  stones,  arrows,  or  boiling  oil 
on  them.  To  guard  against  this,  the  besiegers,  before 
going  close  to  the  walls,  made  something  with  which  to 
protect  themselves  called  mantelets.  These  were  made 
by  stretching  fresh  skins  over  a  wooden  frame,  and  were 
used  by  holding  them  over  the  head.  Sometimes  the  man- 
telets would  be  large  enough  to  cover  one  man,  some- 
times a  half-dozen.  In  any  attempt  to  go  close  to  the 
walls  the  mantelet  was  sure  to  be  used.  In  addition  to 
the  crossbows  used  by  the  archers,  there  were  other  instru- 
ments of  attack  constantly  kept  working.  There  was  a 
kind  of  stone-throwing  implement  called  a  mangonel. 
This  was  made  by  stretching  a  couple  of  stout  ropes 
between  two  posts,  as  you  might,  for  example,  stretch 
a  rubber  band  from  your  thumb  to  forefinger.  Then  a 
wooden  beam,  or  bar,  with  a  cup  in  the  outer  end,  was 
placed  between  these  tightly  stretched  ropes  and  pulled 
back  and  down,  so  as  to  wind  the  ropes  in  different  direc- 
tions.   In  the  cup  at  the  outer  end  a  large  stone  was 


306  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

placed,  and  when  the  bar  was  let  go,  the  ropes,  untwist- 
ing quickly,  threw  it  forward,  and  the  stone  was  hurled 
through  the  air  over  the  wall.  You  see  they  had  not 
learned  to  use  cannon.  They  also  had  what  was  called 
a  balista.  This  was  simply  a  very  large  crossbow, 
the  string  of  the  bow  being  drawn  back  by  a  crank 
at  the  end  of  the  stock.  These  implements  were  used 
for  shooting  heavy  arrows  or  long  bolts  of  iron.  They 
were  like  the  crossbows  made  now,  only  they  were 
so  large  and  strong  that  it  took  two  or  three  men  to 
handle  them.  Sometimes  the  Crusaders  built  wooden 
towers,  in  which  quite  a  number  of  well-armed  men 
stationed  themselves.  The  tower,  which  was  on  wheels, 
was  then  rolled  up  close  to  the  walls.  When  they  were 
close  enough,  the  men  in  the  towers  threw  out  a  bridge 
to  the  walls  and  tried  to  rush  out  on  them  and  drive 
away  those  guarding  them.  If  the  walls  were  not  too 
strongly  guarded,  this  method  of  attack  sometimes  suc- 
ceeded. If  the  walls  could  not  be  scaled  in  this  way, 
they  next  attempted  either  to  tear  them  down  or  to  go 
under  them.  For  tearing  them  down,  they  had  two 
different  devices  —  the  ram  and  the  bore.  The  ram 
was  made  by  taking  a  large  tree  and  covering  one  end 
with  a  heavy  iron  cap.  This  was  then  swung  by  ropes 
from  a  frame.  Like  the  tower,  it  was  placed  on  wheels 
and  run  up  to  the  walls.  It  was  entirely  covered,  and 
under  this  cover  fifty  or  sixty  men  were  required  to  use 
it.  This  was  done  by  pulling  it  far  back,  and  then 
allowing  it  to  swing  violently  forward,  striking  the  end 
against  the  wall.  The  bore  was  made  and  used  in  the 
same  way,  except  that  instead  of  an  iron  battering-head 
it  had  an  iron  point.     The  intention  in  the  use  of  both 


THE   CRUSADES  307 

was  to  loosen  the  stones  in  the  wall,  causing  it  to  fall. 
Sometimes  if  the  ground  was  soft  under  the  wall,  it 
was  easier  to  go  under  it  than  through  it.  Thus  fre- 
quently the  Crusaders,  with  spades,  dug  large  holes,  or 
mines,  under  the  wall.  Sometimes,  to  keep  those  inside 
from  knowing  where  they  were  mining,  the  besiegers 
began  some  distance  from  the  wall  and  tunneled  up  to 
it.  When  the  wall  was  undermined,  it  would  crumble 
down  for  want  of  support,  and  the  army  would  then 
rush  in.  Probably  not  all  of  these  means  were  used  to 
capture  any  one  city,  but  they  were  the  different  ways 
the  Crusaders  knew  and  learned  about,  through  their 
long  struggle  and  intercourse  with  the  Turks  and  Arabs 
in  the  East. 

The  first  Crusading  army  we  have  spoken  of,  after 
much  suffering  and  several  miraculous  experiences, 
came  in  sight  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem.  So  greatly 
were  they  overpowered  by  the  sight  of  its  walls  and 
towers,  that  they  fell  upon  their  knees,  burst  into  tears, 
bent  to  the  earth  and  kissed  it,  and  removed  their  shoes 
and  marched  barefoot  over  the  last  of  the  journey,  that 
they  might  not  desecrate  the  sacred  soil.  After  several 
weeks  of  intense  suffering  for  want  of  water,  and  by  a 
siege  similar  to  the  one  just  described,  the  city  was 
captured.  So  full  of  passion  and  hate  were  the  Cru- 
saders that  they  slew  and  hacked  to  pieces  thousands  of 
Turkish  men,  women  and  children,  and  burnt  the  Jews 
alive  in  their  synagogues.  An  exaggerated  tale,  but 
one  showing  in  general  their  cruelty,  is  told  by  the 
writers  of  that  day,  that  the  slaughter  of  the  Turks  was 
so  great  that  the  Crusaders'  horses  waded  in  blood 
knee-deep  when  they  went  to  the  Church  of  the  Holy 


308  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

Sepulcher  to  thank  the  Lord  for  delivering  it  into  their 
hands.  With  Jerusalem  taken,  they  set  to  work  to 
drive  the  Turks  out  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  immediately 
organized  a  government  on  the  pattern  of  feudalism. 
After  some  debate,  the  feudal  princes  united  in  choosing 
Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  a  French  nobleman,  as  ruler  of 
Jerusalem.  He  refused  to  wear  the  crown  of  a  king 
where  the  Savior  had  worn  on  his  bleeding  forehead  a 
crown  of  thorns.  He  called  himself  Protector  of  the 
Holy  Sepulcher. 

On  account  of  continual  warfare  with  the  Turks  and 
ceaseless  and  bitter  quarrels  among  themselves,  the 
Crusaders  had  great  difficulty  in  keeping  the  kingdom 
of  Jerusalem,  and  other  little  feudal  kingdoms  which 
were  set  up  in  Syria,  from  being  overthrown.  The 
Turks  captured  small  bits  of  territory  in  the  vicinity  of 
Jerusalem,  from  time  to  time,  which  caused  other  cru- 
sading armies  to  leave  Europe  both  by  ship  and  land 
and  make  their  way  toward  Jerusalem,  —  always,  how- 
ever, to  repeat  the  old  story  of  suffering,  plunder, 
disease,  death  by  the  tens  of  thousands,  and  ceaseless 
wrangling,  with  no  permanent  conquests. 

In  all,  seven  Crusades,  extending  over  a  period  of 
nearly  two  hundred  years  (1096-1272  a.d.),  were  under- 
taken by  the  Christians  against  the  Mohammedans, — 
some  directly  against  the  Mohammedans  around  Jeru- 
salem, others  against  those  in  Egypt  and  around  the 
southern  coast  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  But,  with 
all  the  cost  of  life  and  health  and  money,  the  Crusaders 
did  not  succeed  in  permanently  rescuing  the  sepulcher 
from  the  infidels;  in  less  than  a  hundred  years  after 
Jerusalem  was  captured  by  the  Christians,  it  fell  into 


THE   CRUSADES  309 

the  hands  of  the  Turks,  and  was  never  again  regained 
by  the  Christians  for  any  considerable  length  of  time. 

But  because  the  Christians  did  not  succeed  in  per- 
manently retaining  the  Holy  Land,  and  because  the 
cruelties  which  they  practiced  in  many  cases  was  a 
mockery  of  the  religion  of  the  Gentle  Master  whose 
tomb  they  were  seeking  to  rescue,  yet  we  must  not  for 
these  reasons  regard  the  Crusade  movement  as  a  failure. 
The  effects  of  the  movement  were  very  great,  and  in 
many  ways  very  beneficial  to  civilization.  Let  us  briefly 
see  some  of  these  :  — 

1.  The  Crusades  greatly  enriched  the  Church.  Many 
persons,  on  leaving  their  homes,  gave  their  lands  out- 
right to  the  Church  or  monastery,  or  to  keep  for  them 
till  they  returned.  Very  frequently  they  did  not  return. 
Enormous  taxes  were  also  gathered  into  the  treasuries 
of  the  Church  for  two  hundred  years  for  the  avowed 
purpose  of  the  Crusades.  With  continual  increase  of 
wealth  came  corresponding  growth  of  the  Church's 
power. 

2.  The  Crusades  greatly  weakened  the  power  of 
feudalism  and  made  it  possible  for  strong  nations  to 
develop.  The  feudal  lords,  on  starting  for  Jerusalem, 
sometimes  sold  their  lands,  sometimes  gave  them  to 
monasteries,  and  sometimes  left  them  under  the  care  of 
their  servants.  In  this  way  there  came  to  be  fewer 
lords  holding  land ;  and  often  some  powerful  lord  who 
stayed  at  home  would  seize  a  large  amount  of  land  and 
make  himself  king.  Further  than  this,  the  serfs  who 
wished  to  fight  the  infidels  were  granted  freedom, 
and  when  fighting  side  by  side  with  their  lords  began 
to  lose  their  feeling  of    dependence.     When  they  re- 


310  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

turned  from  their  trip,  they  would  often  go  into  the 
cities  and  become  free  laborers  and  citizens,  rather  than 
remain  on  the  farm  as  serfs.  This  made  feudal  laborers 
scarce,  and  so  the  feudal  lord  began  to  have  to  hire  free 
labor  for  the  farm. 

3.  There  was  a  tendency  among  many  of  the  people 
who  were  left  at  home  —  with  most  of  the  fighting  men 
gone  on  the  Crusades  —  to  feel  unsafe;  hence  many 
gathered  into  towns,  which  soon  developed  into  cities 
and  afterward  grew  to  be  very  important.  These 
cities  developed  individual  freedom,  wealth,  art  and  cul- 
ture, and  gave  the  common  man  a  vastly  greater  chance 
for  development  than  he  had  had  as  a  peasant  on  the 
feudal  farm. 

4.  Commerce  was  very  greatly  benefited  by  the  Cru- 
sades. The  trade  routes  that  were  opened  anew  into 
Asia  created  a  taste  for  the  luxuries  of  the  East,  and 
these  luxuries  were  carried  back  westward  over  the 
trade  routes  in  an  ever  increasing  abundance  and 
found  their  way  into  monastery,  cathedral,  and  in  a 
slight  degree  into  the  homes  of  the  common  people. 
European  traders  took  grains,  hides  and  meats  to 
the  Orient,  bringing  back  furs,  embroideries,  dyes, 
jewels,  pearls,  glassware,  silks,  cotton,  spices,  linens, 
damask,  perfumes,  oils  and  fruits  to  the  Europeans. 
Regular  trade  routes  were  established,  and  the  seacoast 
cities  of  Italy,  France  and  Germany  rapidly  grew  rich. 
The  art  of  shipbuilding  was  greatly  stimulated.  It  is 
said  single  ships  were  built  capable  of  carrying  fifteen 
hundred  passengers.  Ships  were  built  stronger  and 
more  solidly  than  before,  so  that  they  might  not  be  so 
easily  destroyed ;  larger,  so  that  more  could  be  carried ; 


THE  CRUSADES  311 

with  several  masts  and  sails  instead  of  one,  so  as  to  in- 
crease the  speed  of  the  ship.  The  mariner's  compass 
came  into  general  use  in  the  twelfth  century  as  a  result 
of  this  great  activity  in  shipping.  All  in  all,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  Crusade  spread  the  Mediterranean  over 
with  sails,  and  by  pouring  Asia's  luxuries  in  Europe's 
lap,  made  Europe  rich. 

5.  Another  result  of  the  movement  was  a  great  in- 
crease of  knowledge  of  many  kinds  :  — 

The  Europeans  saw  many  kinds  of  plants  and  animals 
which  they  had  not  seen  before.  Some  of  the  animals 
they  brought  back  to  Europe,  and  with  these  they  estab- 
lished zoological  gardens. 

European  farming  was  advanced  by  the  Crusaders 
bringing  back  with  them  the  "  Dutch  "  windmill  from  the 
Orient,  where  it  was  used  for  grinding  corn  and  draw- 
ing water.  They  also  introduced  into  Europe  the 
donkey,  mule  and  Arabian  horse ;  these  were  used  both 
in  war  and  on  the  farm. 

Two  hundred  years  of  travel  from  Europe  to  Asia 
had  much  the  same  effect  in  broadening  the  minds  of 
the  European  that  travel  nowadays  between  America 
and  Europe  has  in  broadening  the  minds  of  Americans. 
It  taught  them  that  there  were  as  brave,  honest,  tem- 
perate, industrious  people  as  they  were  themselves,  and 
it  brought  them  in  contact  with  peoples  enjoying  com- 
forts and  luxuries  for  the  home  such  as  they  had  never 
dreamed  of  before,  such  as  carpets,  sofas,  rugs,  mat- 
tresses, glass  mirrors,  fine  potteries,  silks,  brocades  and 
jewels. 

The  Crusades  greatly  influenced  literature  in  Europe 
by  giving  much  material  in  way  of  travel,  stories  and  heroic 


312  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

deeds,  which  were  afterward  sung  by  the  Troubadours, 
used  by  the  poets  and  written  about  by  the  historians. 

Geography  was  a  subject  to  which  the  monastic 
schools  had  paid  almost  no  attention ;  some  of  the  more 
important  geographical  facts  learned  on  the  road  to  and 
from  the  holy  sepulcher  were  the  shape  of  the  seacoast, 
position  and  shape  of  capes,  harbors,  bays  and  islands ; 
the  depth  of  the  sea ;  the  direction  and  force  of  winds ; 
ocean  currents  and  tides ;  and  the  use  of  the  stars  in 
navigation.  Having  gained  this  knowledge,  it  created  a 
desire  to  know  more,  and  men,  like  Marco  Polo,  set  out 
on  journeys  of  exploration  and,  on  returning  home,  wrote 
books  giving  their  experiences.  This  interest  in  explo- 
ration and  the  commerce  which  came  from  it  were  long 
steps  toward  the  discovery  of  America.  In  fact  we  may 
say  that  the  two  hundred  years  of  Europe's  travel  to  the 
East  was  a  great  preparatory  school  for  the  discovery  of 
the  West.     Let  us  briefly  see  how  this  was. 

As  already  said,  during  the  Crusade  movement,  the 
people  of  western  Europe  came  gradually  to  realize 
that  the  Old  East  had  many  ideas,  comforts  and 
luxuries  which  they  lacked.  This  new  desire  caused 
the  Mediterranean  Sea  to  be  whitened  with  sails  as 
it  had  been  in  the  old  days  of  Phoenicia,  Carthage, 
Alexandria,  Greece  and  Rome.  Thousands,  and  even 
hundreds  of  thousands,  were  engaged  in  shipbuilding, 
or  trading,  or  in  growing  and  manufacturing  those 
things  which  were  being  bought  and  sold. 

From  the  beginning,  Italy  led  in  the  movement. 
Her  people  were  the  first  to  work  up  the  great  trade 
routes  and  to  see  the  value  an  Oriental  commerce 
would    be    to   them.      Accordingly,   they  began    very 


THE   CRUSADES  313 

early  to  carry  Crusaders  across  to  the  East  and  to 
bring  shiploads  of  goods  back. 

If  you  look  at  your  map,  you  will  notice  that  Italy 
has  in  the  north  two  large  seacoast  cities,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  peninsula.  These  are  Genoa,  on  the 
west,  and  Venice,  on  the  east.  These  cities,  as  you 
see,  are  nearer  the  main  land  of  Europe  than  any 
other  Italian  seacoast  cities  and  they  are  places  which 
are  rather  easily  reached  from  the  interior  of  the 
continent.  Because  of  these  advantages  they  became 
great  shipping  and  distributing  points.  Both  became 
rich,  and  finally  became  bitter  rivals  of  one  another 
in  wealth  and  trade. 

Genoa  sent  her  ships  through  by  Constantinople, 
thence  across  the  Black  Sea  and  thence  on  into  west- 
ern and  central  Asia.  Venice  took  the  southern  route, 
going  down  to  the  Isthmus  of  Suez,  thence  by  the  Red 
Sea  to  the  Indian  Ocean  and  on  to  India  and  China. 

The  Turks,  who  knew  little  of  the  comforts  or 
luxuries  of  life,  hindered  their  trade  very  considerably 
during  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries ;  but 
when  they  took  Constantinople,  in  1453,  they  stopped 
the  Genoese  ships  altogether  from  following  their  old 
line  of  travel.  This  gave  Venice  the  advantage  in  all 
the  eastern  trade  and  brought  Genoa  to  a  standstill, 
and  soon  to  a  decline.  This  greatly  exasperated  the 
Genoese,  and  they  at  once  began  to  look  for  another 
route  by  which  their  ships  could  reach  the  East. 

On  returning  from  the  East,  the  Crusaders  brought 
with  them  many  new  ideas  of  the  extent  of  the  world 
and  of  the  motions  of  the  sun  and  stars.  These  they 
got  from   the   Arabs,  who   had  worked   them   out   in 


314  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

their  excellent  universities  and  obtained  them  from  ex- 
perience in  extensive  travel  and  trade.  They  learned 
that  China  and  India  are  almost  due  east  from  Europe 
and  that  they  are  bordered  on  the  east  by  a  sea.  Tak- 
ing these  geographical  facts  as  a  basis,  the  Genoese 
navigator,  Columbus,  formed  a  new  plan  for  reaching 
these  old  eastern  countries.  It  was  this :  The  sea, 
he  said,  that  bordered  on  China  and  India,  was  the 
other  side  of  the  "  Dark  Sea,"  as  it  was  then  called, 
or  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  as  we  now  call  it.  This  of 
course,  if  true,  would  make  the  world  round.  Now 
you  can  very  easily  see  the  plan  he  conceived.  It 
was  to  sail  due  west  across  the  "  Dark  Sea"  and  land 
directly  in  the  Old  East  with  all  her  riches  and  lux- 
uries. It  was  difficult  for  him  to  convince  people  that 
he  was  right,  but  by  patience  and  perseverance  he 
at  last  induced  the  Queen  of  Spain,  Isabella,  to  furnish 
him  money  to  try  his  plan.  In  all  the  history  of  the 
world  up  to  this  time  no  one  had  had  the  courage  to 
strike  out  boldly  on  the  sea,  out  of  sight  of  land  ;  for 
they  feared  that  the  monsters  of  the  sea  would  devour 
them  or  that  they  would  never  be  able  to  return  to 
land.  To  do  so  now  required  great  courage  and  self- 
reliance.  Columbus  set  sail  in  1492,  and  in  sailing 
westward  for  the  coast  of  China  and  India,  ran  into 
North  America,  and  thus  opened  to  the  already  won- 
dering eyes  of  Europe  a  new  world  of  land  and  water, 
three  times  as  large  as  all  the  world  they  had  known 
and  explored  up  to  that  time.  Thus  you  see  how  the 
Crusades,  though  failing  in  permanently  securing  for 
the  Christians  the  Holy  Land  in  the  East,  did  give  the 
Teutons  a  training  which  greatly  aided  them  in  gaining 


THE   CRUSADES  315 

and  developing  a  much  nobler  land  in  the  West. 
Through  the  Crusades  Old  Asia,  feeble  and  dying, 
bequeathed  her  thought,  her  art,  her  riches  and  lux- 
ury to  her  young  daughter,  Europe.  Europe  will  in- 
crease her  Asiatic  inheritance  by  adding  to  it  the  art 
of  Greece  and  the  law  of  Rome,  and  presently  we  shall 
see  how  the  daughter  passed  on  the  inheritance  of  all 
that  Asia  and  Europe  had  accumulated  through  all  the 
ages  to  her  lusty  son  —  "  Time's  noblest  offspring  "  — 
America. 

References 

Cox  :  The  Crusades  ;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 

Duruy :  History  of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  Holt  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

Thatcher   and    Schwill :   History  of  the   Middle   Ages ;  Scribner's 

Sons,  N.Y. 
Emerton  :  Mediaeval  Europe  ;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Guizot :  History  of  Civilization  in  Europe :  Appleton  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Myers  :  Mediaeval  and  Modern  History  ;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Lacroix :  Religious  and  Military  History  of  the  Middle  Ages ;  not 
so  good  in  text,  but  very  good  for  illustrations ;  Virtue  &  Co., 
London. 
Adams  :  Civilization  During  the  Middle  Ages  :  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 
Kemp :  Outlines  of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools ;  Ginn 

&  Co.,  Boston. 
See  good  cyclopedias  for  articles  on  the  Crusades  and  prominent 

leaders  in  them. 
Study  the  biographies  of  Pope  Urban  II,  Peter  the  Hermit,  Godfrey 

of  Bouillon,  Innocent  III,  Frederick  Barbarossa,  Richard  I  of 

England,  Saladin,  Marco  Polo,  Isabella,  Columbus. 


HOW  THE  TEUTONIC  SEED  OF  SELF-GOV- 
ERNMENT PASSED  FROM  THE  GER- 
MAN WOODS  INTO  ENGLAND  AND  WAS 
FINALLY   PLANTED    IN   AMERICA 

The  stream  of  history  is  something  like  a  river.  The 
river  rises  often  as  a  mere  rivulet,  but  as  it  flows  along, 
one  tributary  after  another  falling  into  it,  first  from  one 
side,  then  from  the  other,  it  becomes  wider  and  deeper, 
its  current  stronger,  and  its  course  continually  more 
difficult  to  change. 

We  have  now  seen  something  of  the  early  part  of  the 
stream  and  of  the  great  men,  cities  and  nations  which 
grew  up  along  its  course.  First  arose  great  cities  like 
Memphis  and  Babylon  in  the  valleys  of  the  Nile  and  the 
Tigro-Euphrates.  Here  man  lived  very  simply.  He  was 
just  working  out  an  alphabet  and  the  art  of  writing,  and 
was  making  his  first  steps  in  literature,  art,  language, 
religion  and  government.  Then  as  the  stream  flowed 
on  westward,  circling  around  the  Mediterranean,  the 
Phoenicians  adopted  the  alphabet  and  the  other  useful 
things  which  the  Old  East  had  worked  out,  and  through 
their  trade  scattered  them  around  the  Mediterranean 
coast  as  a  farmer  scatters  seed  on  his  fields.  These 
things  brought  from  the  early  nesting-places  of  civili- 
zation in  the  Orient  furnished  a  foundation  for  the 
civilization  of  Greece,  which  thus  by  catching  up  the 

316 


THE   TEUTONS   LEARN   SELF-GOVERNMENT      317 

best  ideas  of  the  past,  and  adding  to  them  her  great 
ideas  of  literature,  art  and  philosophy,  made  Athens 
the  mistress  of  the  Mediterranean.  The  stream  then 
flowed  on  westward  to  the  Italian  peninsula.  Here 
Rome,  starting  like  a  spider  in  the  center  of  Italy, 
industriously  spun  its  web  out  farther  and  farther  till 
it  caught  and  drew  to  its  center  all  of  the  peoples 
living  in  the  Mediterranean  basin.  From  these  people, 
and  especially  from  the  Greeks,  Rome  learned  the 
lessons  of  art  and  literature  and  philosophy,  but  in  turn 
taught  them  lessons  of  government,  teaching  them, 
however,  not  so  much  how  to  rule  themselves,  as  how 
to  be  ruled  by  Rome.  The  imperial  city  became  the 
center  of  the  world,  toward  which  every  man,  city  and 
province  looked  as  the  giver  of  peace  and  order,  and  as 
the  regulator  of  every  detail  of  life.  Thus  Rome  added 
to  the  great  stream  of  human  history  the  idea  of  a  strong 
central  government,  giving  out  rules  and  laws  to  a  vast 
empire,  having  a  population,  at  its  greatest,  of  perhaps 
one  hundred  and  twenty  million  people. 

But  when  the  rude  Teutons  came  through  the  passes 
of  the  Alps  and  gradually  took  possession  of  Rome,  it 
looked  for  a  time  as  if  the  stream  of  history  was  to  be 
choked  up  and  to  flow  no  farther.  It  seemed  as  if  the 
wealth  and  learning  which  had  come  down  from  the 
East,  the  art  of  Greece  and  the  law  of  Rome,  were  all 
to  be  lost  by  the  rude  shocks  of  the  uncivilized  barbarian 
who  at  first  seemed  to  care  nothing  for  any  of  them. 
But  slowly,  and  almost  so  noiselessly  as  not  to  be  heard 
(except  in  time  of  intense  persecution),  the  Christian 
missionary  was  opening  up  the  channels  through  the 
Alps,  so  that  the  historical  stream  might  flow  northward 


318  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

from  the  Mediterranean  into  western  and  northwestern 
Europe. 

Thus  gradually  through  the  monastery  and  the  castle, 
as  we  saw  in  last  year's  work,  and  by  the  great  move- 
ment of  the  Crusades  and  the  Renascence,  as  we  are 
to  see  in  our  work  this  year,  were  the  channels  opened 
so  that  all  the  great  thoughts  and  ideas  of  the  past 
might  become  the  inheritance  of  the  rude,  uncultured 
children  now  ruling  Europe.  But  these  Teutons,  who 
had  spread  as  hunters,  herders  and  fishers  through  the 
northern  woods  and  valleys  were  not  merely  to  have 
their  lives  enriched  by  coming  to  understand  the  great 
ideas  of  the  past ;  they  themselves,  notwithstanding  they 
were  rude  and  barbarous  at  first,  had  also  ideas  which 
were  greatly  to  advance  the  modern  history  of  man. 

The  most  important  of  these  ideas  was  their  strong 
love  of  individual  freedom.  When  we  were  studying 
the  early  Germans  last  year,  we  saw  how  intense  was 
their  love  of  liberty.  Every  man  liked  to  rule  himself, 
or  at  least  to  have  an  equal  share  with  everybody  else 
in  electing  the  chief  who  was  to  rule  him.  He  insisted 
on  having  an  equal  share  in  the  public  land,  in  the 
spoils  gained  in  war,  and  when  he  built  his  villages  he 
placed  the  huts  so  far  apart  that  every  one  could  have 
plenty  of  elbow  room. 

If  the  Teuton's  love  of  individual  liberty  and  local 
government  as  it  was  worked  out  in  his  "  moot-court," 
could  be  preserved  and  added  to  Rome's  great  idea  of 
a  strong  central  government,  then  the  modern  European 
nations  could  build  their  foundations  upon  both  ideas, 
—  that  is,  they  could  have  in  the  first  place  a  strong 
central  government  to  hold  the   people   together  and 


THE   TEUTONS    LEARN   SELF-GOVERNMENT     319 

keep  them  in  order,  and  keep  off  foreign  enemies,  and 
protect  their  commerce,  and  coin  just  one  kind  of 
money  and  the  like ;  and  yet,  in  the  second  place,  they 
could  have  an  active  local  government,  which  would 
allow  the  people  to  have  their  little  meetings  and  assem- 
blies near  home  where  all  could  attend  and  take  part 
in  thinking  out  and  making  laws  regulating  their  home 
affairs,  such  as  dividing  the  land,  pasturing  the  stock, 
building  roads  and  the  like.  If  both  these  ideas  of 
government  could  be  wisely  united,  a  stronger  and  better 
kind  of  government  than  even  Rome  had  developed, 
could  be  built  up  in  the  modern  states. 

Now  there  were  many  nations  which  finally  sprang 
up,  more  or  less,  out  of  the  Teutonic  tribes.  Spain, 
France,  Germany,  Italy  and  England  were  all  growing 
to  be  strong  nations,  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
—  that  is,  at  the  time  Columbus  discovered  America. 
But  among  all  these,  there  was  but  one  single  nation  at 
this  time  that  had,  through  many  hard  struggles  and 
through  hundreds  of  years,  held  firmly  and  constantly 
to  the  Teutonic  idea  of  individual  liberty,  and  the  right 
of  a  man  to  rule  himself,  either  directly  or  indirectly, 
by  electing  those  who  were  to  rule  him. 

This  one  nation  was  England.  All  the  other  great 
nations  in  Europe  were  slowly  crushing  the  Teutonic 
spirit  from  their  midst.  This  came  about  largely  because 
the  southern  nations  had  sprung  up  on  soil  where  the 
roots  of  the  old  Roman  ideas  of  government  were  planted 
very  deep  and  were  therefore  strong,  and  because  these 
nations,  living  not  so  very  far  away  from  Rome,  fre- 
quently thought  of  the  great  empire,  and  tried  to 
build  their  governments  upon  the  model  worked  out  by 


320  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

Rome,  —  that  is,  upon  the  idea  of  a  strong  central 
government  ruled  arbitrarily  by  one  man.  Spain  and 
France  in  particular  had  crushed  out  all  thought  of  the 
Teutonic  idea  of  local  self-government,  and  in  neither 
country  at  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  America  were 
there  regular  assemblies  or  a  parliament  for  making  laws 
to  which  the  people  could  go  themselves  or  send  their 
representatives. 

But  in  England  things  grew  very  differently.  Begin- 
ning in  the  fifth  century  (about  450)  and  continuing  for 
six  hundred  years  (1066,  when  William  the  Conqueror 
landed),  swarm  after  swarm  of  Teutons  invaded  and 
settled  in  England.  At  first  they  went  from  northern 
Germany,  —  Angles,  Saxons  and  Jutes,  —  and  settling 
down  in  small  groups,  cleared  a  little  land  and  divided 
it  up  just  as  they  had  done  in  the  old  German  woods 
hundreds  of  years  before.  A  few  of  the  families  living 
close  together  formed  a  township,  and  regulated  their 
affairs  in  an  assembly  attended  by  all  the  freemen. 
Several  of  these  townships,  enough  to  furnish  a  hun- 
dred or  so  of  warriors,  formed  what  was  called  "The 
Hundred,"  which  also  had  an  assembly  composed  of 
representatives  sent  from  the  townships  composing  it. 
Then  as  time  went  on  and  there  came  to  be  but  one 
king  in  England,  the  little  kingdoms  of  former  days, 
such  as  those  of  the  Angles,  Saxons  and  Jutes,  became 
shires,  or,  as  we  would  say,  counties.  The  county  also, 
like  the  township  and  "The  Hundred,"  had  an  assem- 
bly for  attending  to  its  affairs. 

As  already  said,  many  companies  of  Teutonic  people 
went  to  the  rich  and  beautiful  island.  It  was  a  little 
like  an  island  of   corn  in  a  vast  stream  covered  with 


THE  TEUTONS   LEARN    SELF-GOVERNMENT    32 1 

river-fowl,  —  flock  after  flock  would  light,  feed,  build 
their  nests  and  hatch  their  broods  upon  it.  So  the  rich 
soil  and  mild  climate  of  England  invited  settlers.  After 
the  first  of  the  Angles,  Saxons  and  Jutes  had  gone 
to  England,  almost  continuous  groups  of  the  same 
people  followed  through  the  fifth,  sixth  and  seventh 
centuries,  each  helping  to  plant  more  firmly  Teutonic 
customs  and  institutions.  Then  in  the  eighth  and  ninth 
centuries  the  Danes  came  in,  and  in  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury came  the  brave,  free  seamen  who  had  learned  on 
the  waves  of  the  Northern  waters  the  lessons  of  courage, 
independence  and  self-reliance.  These  were  called  the 
Northmen,  or  Normans. 

Before  going  into  England,  however,  they  had  settled 
for  a  little  time  in  northern  France,  and  thus  became 
acquainted  with  the  language  and  culture  of  Rome, 
which,  largely  by  means  of  the  monastery  and  castle, 
had  gradually  spread  itself  through  southern  and  cen- 
tral Europe. 

These  Normans,  as  they  were  now  called,  crossed  the 
channel,  under  the  leadership  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
and  in  1066  conquered  the  island.  But  they  did  not 
destroy  or  root  up  the  Teutonic  ideas  of  self-govern- 
ment which  had  been  growing  there  for  five  or  six 
hundred  years  before  William's  invasion  of  the  island. 
But  as  soon  as  he  had  conquered  the  country,  William 
did  one  thing  which  has  been  greatly  to  the  advantage 
of  England  ever  since,  —  he  gave  it  a  strong  central 
government.  He  did  not  destroy  the  local  governments 
which  the  Teutons  so  much  liked,  as  the  French  and 
Spanish  kings  did  in  the  centuries  following  this  time, 
but  he  built   up   a  strong  central  government  in  the 


322  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

midst  of  them,  to  keep  them  in  balance  and  to  protect 
them  against  both  internal  strife  and  foreign  ene- 
mies. Thus  England  adopted  both  ideas  —  Roman  and 
Teuton  —  as  the  foundation  stones  upon  which  to  build 
her  institutions.  And  the  great  difference  between 
English  history  and  the  history  of  all  other  nations  in 
Europe  from  the  eleventh  century  down  to  the  present 
time  is,  that  England  has  been  much  of  the  time  as 
fierce  and  as  watchful  as  a  tiger  of  its  young,  that  no 
one  should  destroy  either  of  these  great  principles  of 
government;  while  other  European  nations  have  been 
content  in  the  main  to  hold  on  to  the  idea  of  govern- 
ment as  held  by  Rome. 

But  we  must  not  think  this  Teutonic  principle 
of  self-government  grew  in  England  without  great 
struggle.  Time  and  time  again,  kings  arose  in  Eng- 
land who  would  have  been  delighted  to  crush  it  out,  — 
kings  who  would  levy  taxes  without  consent  of  the 
people,  and  spend  the  money  on  expensive  wars  or  to 
keep  up  an  expensive  court. 

One  of  the  most  arbitrary  of  these  kings  in  early 
times,  and  one  who  cared  least  for  the  rights  of  the  peo- 
ple, was  King  John.  He  was  always  needing  money  for 
one  expensive  thing  after  another,  and  always  trying  to 
get  it  by  wringing  it  from  the  people  in  all  kinds  of 
oppressive  ways.  Finally  the  people,  and  especially 
the  barons  or  lords,  growing  tired  of  this,  armed  them- 
selves and  went  against  John.  The  king  tried  to  de- 
fend himself  with  an  army,  but  nearly  everybody 
deserted  him,  and  he  was  compelled,  in  12 15  a.d.,  to 
sign  an  agreement  with  his  people  never  to  tax  them 
again   without  their  consent,   never   to  imprison  them 


THE  TEUTONS  LEARN   SELF-GOVERNMENT    323 

without  just  cause,  and  to  allow  them  to  be  tried  by  a 
jury  when  they  were  accused  of  wrong.  This  agree- 
ment is  the  most  important  document  in  English  his- 
tory, and  is  called  Magna  Charta,  or  the  Great  Charter. 
It  is  written  on  parchment,  consists  of  sixty-three  short 
chapters  or  articles,  and  is  most  carefully  preserved  in 
the  British  Museum  in  London. 

The  English  people  have  never  written  a  constitution 
all  at  one  time  and  adopted  it  as  their  frame  of  govern- 
ment, as  the  United  States  did  in  1 787-1 789;  but  from 
time  to  time  they  have  written  important  documents 
and  had  their  rulers  assent  to  them,  and  these  they 
regard  as  the  foundation  stones  of  their  government 
and  of  their  liberties.  In  English  history  there  have 
been  three  of  these  very  important  documents  :  — 

1.  Magna  Charta,  secured  in   1215. 

2.  The  Petition  of  Right,  passed  by  Parliament  in 
1628. 

3.  The  Bill  of  Rights,  passed  by  Parliament  in  1689. 
Among  several  other  things,  all  these  great  documents 

declare  the  following  great  principles  of  liberty :  — 

1.  No  tax  shall  be  levied  upon  any  English  subject 
without  his  consent. 

2.  No  one  shall  be  imprisoned  without  cause  being 
shown. 

3.  When  one  is  accused  he  shall  have  right  of  trial 
by  jury. 

Now,  to  work  out  these  principles  and  to  get  them 
firmly  established  in  the  minds  of  the  English  people 
took  a  full  thousand  years  or  more  —  that  is,  from  the 
first  settlements  of  the  Angles  and  Saxons  and  Jutes 
on  the  English  coast,  about  450  a.d.,  when  they  were 


324  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

planted  in  mere  germ,  down  to  1689,  when  the  Eng- 
lish people  brought  them  to  much  fuller  fruitage  by 
driving  a  very  tyrannical  king  (James  II)  from  the 
English  throne  and  crowning  William  and  Mary  as 
king  and  queen  on  the  condition  that  they  would 
agree  to  the  following  principles :  — 

1.  Not  to  dispense  with  any  laws  without  consent 
of  Parliament. 

2.  Not  to  raise  any  money  except  by  consent  of 
Parliament. 

3.  Not  to  keep  a  standing  army  without  consent  of 
Parliament. 

4.  To  allow  the  people  to  bear  arms  without  consent 
of  Parliament. 

5.  To  allow  the  people  to  petition  the  king. 

6.  To  allow  the  freedom  of  debate  in  Parliament. 

7.  To  allow  frequent  meetings  of  Parliament. 

You  see,  from  what  the  king  and  queen  had  to 
promise,  they  could  do  nothing  except  what  they  were 
allowed  to  do  by  the  English  people,  expressing  them- 
selves through  the  great  representative  assembly  called 
Parliament.  And  since  the  English  Parliament  has 
always  been  the  greatest  means  by  which  the  people 
have  gained  their  rights  and  held  on  to  their  liberties, 
you  must  learn  something  about  it. 

Parliament  comes  from  a  French  word,  "parler," 
which  means  "  to  speak,"  and  it  was  so  called  because 
the  English  people  came  together  in  this  body  to  speak, 
or  debate,  about  the  best  ways  of  carrying  on  the 
affairs  of  the  nation.  In  Magna  Charta,  to  which  as 
you  remember  King  John  agreed  in  12 15,  there  was  a 
provision  that  a  council  should  be  called  to  levy  taxes 


THE   TEUTONS   LEARN   SELF-GOVERNMENT    325 

whenever  taxes  were  needed.  The  first  council  or 
parliament  which  was  ever  called  of  this  kind  in  Eng- 
land was  in  1265.  It  was  called,  not  by  the  King  him- 
self, but  by  one  of  his  subjects,  Simon  de  Montfort,  for 
the  purpose  of  curbing  the  King's  tyranny.  To  this 
parliament  were  summoned  the  few  nobles  who  were  in 
sympathy  with  De  Montfort,  representatives  of  the  large 
landowners  and  representatives  of  the  people  living  in 
the  large  towns.  Thirty  years  after  this  time,  in  1295, 
when  a  great  English  King,  Edward  I,  was  needing 
money  to  carry  on  war  against  the  Welsh  and  the 
Scotch  he  assembled  a  Parliament,  in  which  all  of  the 
classes  of  English  people  were  represented,  to  ask  them 
to  vote  him  money. 

In  the  first  place  there  were  summoned  to  this  Par- 
liament both  the  great  nobles,  such  as  dukes,  earls 
and  counts,  and  the  great  churchmen,  such  as  bishops 
and  archbishops.  Then,  since  there  were  too  many 
small  landowners  to  come  in  person,  there  were  two 
representatives  chosen  from  each  county  to  represent 
the  general  body.  Next,  from  each  city  there  were 
two  representatives  chosen.  Next,  from  each  burgh, 
or  borough,  or  large  town,  two  representatives  were 
chosen.  The  representatives  from  the  cities  and  towns 
represented  the  merchants  and  mechanics.  Thus  all 
classes  of  the  English  people  were  represented  in  the 
Parliament.  It  was  the  first  time  that  this  had  occurred 
in  England,  or  in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  so 
important  was  it,  in  working  out  the  liberties  and  great- 
ness of  England,  that  the  great  historian  of  the  English 
people,  John  Richard  Green,  has  called  its  assembling 
"  the  most  important  event  in  English  history." 


326  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

From  this  time  forward  Parliament  grew  step  by 
step,  sometimes  having  hard  struggles  when  a  king  or 
queen  sat  on  the  throne  who  was  disposed  to  rule 
without  regard  to  the  people's  rights.  But  as  the 
people  grew  in  knowledge  and  self-reliance,  their  rep- 
resentatives in  Parliament  grew  in  courage,  in  love  of 
liberty,  and  in  willingness  to  risk  their  lives  if  necessary 
to  keep  those  great  Teutonic  principles  guaranteed  by 
Magna  Charta  from  being  destroyed. 

Now  all  of  this  long  growth  of  liberty  from  the 
German  forests  up  to  England,  and  for  ten  centuries 
in  England,  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  us  who 
live  in  the  United  States ;  for  the  germs  and  roots  of 
the  political  liberties  which  we  enjoy,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  are  buried  deep  in  the  history  of  our  ancestors 
in  England  and  our  still  older  ancestors  in  the  German 
forests. 

When  the  New  World  was  discovered,  three  great 
nations  stood  on  the  western  coast  of  Europe  and 
launched  their  ships  toward  the  west,  —  Spain,  France 
and  England.  The  one  which  most  fully  represented 
all  of  the  best  and  greatest  principles  of  education,  reli- 
gion, government,  industry  and  social  freedom  worked 
out  by  the  world  up  to  that  time,  would  in  all  proba- 
bility win  the  race  in  the  struggle  for  the  New  World. 

As  already  said,  one  of  these  nations  only  had  been 
able  to  plant,  nourish  and  develop  in  its  political  life  the 
idea  that  every  man  should  have  the  right  to  rule  him- 
self. England,  by  working  out  township  and  "  hun- 
dred "  and  county  assemblies,  and  by  developing  that 
greatest  agent  of  liberty  of  the  last  five  hundred  years 
—  the  Parliament,  —  had  given  herself  many  centuries 


THE   TEUTONS   LEARN  SELF-GOVERNMENT    327 

of  schooling  in  self-government.  This  schooling  had 
strengthened  her  people  for  the  great  undertakings  in 
gaining  wealth,  culture,  art,  literature  and  free  politi- 
cal life,  which  make  England  to-day  as  great  as  any 
nation  on  the  earth.  Hence  when  the  English  crossed 
the  Atlantic  in  the  seventeenth  century  and  began  to 
plant  townships  in  New  England,  counties  in  Virginia, 
and  legislatures  in  all  of  the  colonies,  she  was  sowing 
in  the  new  soil  ideas  which  had  been  ripening  through 
many  centuries  in  the  old.  And  then  later,  when,  at 
the  time  of  our  Revolutionary  War,  an  arbitrary  Eng- 
lish king,  George  III,  tried  to  stamp  out  this  Teutonic 
love  of  self-government,  it  was  the  voice  of  Burke  and 
Pitt  in  the  English  Parliament  and  of  Samuel  Adams 
and  Otis  and  Patrick  Henry  in  the  legislative  hall  of 
the  colonies  and  in  the  Stamp  Act  Congress  (both  the 
natural  outgrowth  of  free  Teutonic  institutions)  which 
did  such  great  service  in  saving  the  principle  of  self- 
government  for  the  whole  English  race  —  for  England 
as  well  as  America.  Thus  we  see  how  old  are  the 
germs  of  the  free  institutions  of  our  own  country,  and 
how  impossible  it  would  be  for  us  to  have  them  had  it 
not  been  for  our  brave  Teutonic-English  ancestors  who 
struggled  to  save  and  develop  these  liberties,  hundreds 
of  years  before  our  country  was  discovered. 

References 

Guest:   Lectures  on  English  History ;  Macmillan  Co.,  N.Y. 
Larned:  History  of  England;  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Green  :  The  History  of  the  English  People,  4  vols. ;  Harper  &  Bros., 

N.Y. 
Green :  A  Short   History  of  the  English  People ;  Harper  &  Bros., 

N.Y. 


328  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

Kendall :  Source  Book  of  English  History ;  Macmillan  Co.,  N.Y. 
Higginson  and  Channing :  English  History  for  American  Readers ; 

Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Tappan:  England's  Story;   Holt  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Adams:  Civilization  During  the  Middle  Ages;    Harper   &  Bros., 

N.Y. 
Duruy  :  History  of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  Holt  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Dickens :  A  Child's  History  of  England ;  Appleton  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Gardner :    A  Student's  History  of  England ;  Longmans,  Green  & 

Co.,  N.Y. 
MacDonagh  :  The  Book  of  Parliament ;  Isbister  &  Co.,  London. 
Directors  of  Old  South  Work : 
Magna  Charta,  .         .  Leaflet  5.^ 
The  Bill  of  Rights,      .        "     19.  I  Boston,  Mass. 
The  Petition  of  Right,        "     23.  J 
Kemp  :  Outlines  of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools  ;  Ginn 

&  Co.,  Boston. 
See  articles   in   good   cyclopedias  on  Magna   Charta,  Parliament, 

Petition  of  Right  and  Bill  of  Rights. 
Study  the  lives  of  Alfred,  William  the  Conqueror,  Simon  de  Mon- 

fort,  Edward  I,  Hampden,  Cromwell,  William  III,  Pitt,  Burke, 

Bright,  Beaconsfield,  Gladstone.      Study  Magna  Charta,  The 

Petition  of  Right  and  Bill  of  Rights. 


HOW  THE  ART  OF  GREECE  AND  ROME 
WAS  HANDED  FORWARD  TO  WESTERN 
EUROPE  THROUGH  THE  RENASCENCE 
MOVEMENT 

I35O-I550  A.D. 

The  first  part  of  the  word  renascence  (re)  means 
again;  and  the  second  part  (nascence)  means  to  be 
born.  So  the  meaning  of  the  whole  word,  renascence, 
is,  to  be  born  again,  or  to  spring  up  into  new  life. 
You  have  no  doubt  often  watched  the  leaves  come  out 
in  the  springtime  after  the  trees  looked  dead  and  bare 
for  a  long  time  during  the  winter  months.  These  are 
not  the  same  leaves  as  those  that  were  there  the  year 
before.  With  the  warm  sun  and  early  showers  of 
spring,  fresh  sap  has  run  up  the  body  of  the  tree,  and 
new  leaves  have  been  born.  The  renascence  was  a 
period  of  time,  extending  through  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries,  during  which  there  was  a  new  birth, 
of  learning,  in  the  minds  of  the  European  people.  It 
was  the  European  springtime  which  followed  the  Cru- 
sades, in  which  the  old  life  of  Greece  and  Rome 
blossomed  out  into  great  beauty,  and  gave  a  freer, 
richer  life  to  the  countries  of  western  Europe,  as  we 
shall  presently  see. 

You  remember,  in  the  study  of  the  monastic  life  we  saw 
that  the  monks  copied  a  great  deal,  and  that  what  they 
copied  and  recopied  on  those  musty  sheets  of  goat  and 

329 


330  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

calf  skin  was  handed  down  to  the  people  of  later  ages. 
You  remember,  too,  that  in  the  monastery  were  schools 
for  boys.  This  shows  that  some  persons  were  interested 
somewhat  in  learning.  But  the  monastery  was  about  the 
only  place  where  there  was  any  great  interest  in  learn- 
ing in  those  early  days,  and  even  the  monks  were  fre- 
quently not  greatly  interested  in  the  old  writings  which 
they  spent  a  lifetime  in  copying.  They  copied  some- 
times because  they  were  required  to  do  so,  and  often  for 
the  sake  merely  of  having  something  to  do.  People  out- 
side the  monastery  knew  nothing  of  books,  perhaps 
ninety-nine  out  of  every  hundred  would  have  been  un- 
able to  read  the  language  which  they  spoke,  and  not 
one  common  man  in  a  thousand  could  read  Latin,  which 
was  the  language  in  which  the  books  were  written.  The 
monks  generally  knew  nothing  of  the  learning  or  lit- 
erature of  the  Greeks,  because  they  could  not  under- 
stand the  Greek  language,  just  as  you  and  I  to-day  do 
not  understand  the  literature  of  the  Chinese  or  the  Ara- 
bians, until  some  one  translates  it  for  us,  because  we 
do  not  understand  their  language. 

We  learned  also  in  the  third  and  fourth  grades  that 
the  Greeks  and  Romans  wrote  a  great  deal,  and  that 
some  of  the  very  best  thoughts  of  to-day  have  been 
handed  down  to  us  from  the  pens  of  those  old  scholars. 
Some  of  the  greatest  poets,  painters,  sculptors  and 
philosophers  that  ever  lived  were  to  be  found  among 
the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans,  such  as  Homer  and 
Virgil,  Plato,  Socrates  and  Phidias. 

The  flame  of  this  brilliant  civilization  slowly  died 
down,  both  in  Greece  and  Rome,  before  those  countries 
fell,  but  when  the  Germans,  with  their  ignorance  and 


THE   TEUTONS   LEARN   ART  AND   LITERATURE    331 

spirit  of  conquest,  went  down  and  conquered  Rome  in 
the  fifth  century  after  Christ,  it  seemed  that  the  flicker- 
ing flame  of  culture  would  be  wholly  smothered  out. 
But  the  monastery  and  the  Mohammedan  schools  in 
Europe  had  kept  sparks  of  it  alive  from  500  to  1400 
a.d.,  and  now  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries 
it  was  to  be  fanned  into  a  flame  and  to  burst  forth  with 
a  brighter  light  than  ever.  The  stir  that  was  set  up  in 
Europe  by  the  Crusades  resulted  in  a  great  increase  in 
the  activity  of  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  greatly 
broadened  their  knowledge.  Colleges  and  schools 
began  to  rise,  and  men's  minds  began  to  long  for  greater 
freedom.  They  learned  from  visiting  the  universities  of 
the  Arabians  that  there  were  people  in  the  world  who 
were  better  educated  than  they,  and  had  a  hundredfold 
more  of  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life.  Stimulated 
by  this,  Europe  began  to  shake  off  the  torpor  that  had 
benumbed  her  mind,  and  to  take  on  a  more  active 
life. 

The  greatest  stir  in  this  new  thought  first  came  about 
in  Italy,  partly  because  of  the  good  position  she  held 
with  regard  to  the  commerce  of  the  world ;  then  like  a 
river  which  gradually  fills  full  of  water  to  overflowing, 
the  new  stream  of  learning  rose  to  such  a  height  in 
Italy  that,  during  the  century  in  which  Columbus  lived, 
it  flowed  northward  through  the  passes  of  the  Alps  and 
spread  out  over  all  western  Europe. 

This  movement  first  began  to  show  itself  in  the  in- 
creased interest  which  men  took  in  the  literature  of  the 
Greeks  arid  the  Romans,  and  also  in  the  study  of 
nature.  The  men  who  were  leaders  in  the  movement 
were  usually  men  of  wealth  and  ease.     They  were  thus 


332  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

able  to  travel  and  search  for  books  themselves,  as  well 
as  to  employ  others  to  search  for  them. 

An  Italian  by  the  name  of  Petrarch  was  an  early 
leader  of  the  renascence.  He  lived  from  1304  to 
1374.  He  felt  the  beauty  of  nature  about  him  and 
had  an  intense  desire  to  possess  the  writings  of  the 
whole  ancient  world.  He  wanted  a  broader  view  of 
life  and  the  world  than  one  could  get  shut  up  in  a 
cell.  It  is  said  that  he  was  the  first  man  to  climb  a 
mountain  for  the  mere  pleasure  of  the  journey  and  the 
delight  of  the  scene  from  the  top.  He  was  a  most 
enthusiastic  collector  of  manuscripts  and  books  and 
wrote  some  poetry.  His  father,  wishing  him  to  be  a 
lawyer,  had  him  spend  much  time  in  the  libraries  of 
the  lawyers.  Here  he  learned  Latin,  in  which  the 
law-books  were  written,  but  he  studied  very  little  law. 
He  read  with  delight  the  writings  of  the  old  Latin 
poets  and  scholars.  One  day  his  father  found  a  stack 
of  books  under  the  bed,  and  when  he  found  that  his 
son  had  been  reading  literature  instead  of  law,  he 
threw  the  books  into  the  fire.  The  boy  was  so  hurt 
by  the  unkindness  of  his  father  that  he  began  to  cry. 
The  father  then  snatched  a  volume  of  Cicero  and  a 
volume  of  Virgil  from  the  flames  and  gave  them  back 
to  the  boy.  He  grew  up  to  be  a  great  scholar,  and 
the  interest  which  his  Latin  writings  excited,  his  let- 
ters to  friends  and  his  enthusiastic  studies  caused  other 
Italians  to  turn  their  attention  to  the  ancient  classics. 
By  the  ancient  classics  is  meant  the  literature  of  the 
old  Greeks  and  Romans.  Petrarch  influenced  another 
great  man  of  his  time,  Boccaccio,  to  study  Greek  and 
to  become  a  writer.      He  became  one  of  the  greatest 


THE   TEUTONS   LEARN   ART   AND   LITERATURE    333 

writers  of  the  Renascence  period,  and  like  Petrarch 
greatly  helped  to  spread  among  scholars  a  love  for 
the  great  writings  of  Greece  and  Rome.  Students  of 
the  fifteenth  century  followed  in  their  steps  and  con- 
tinued the  collection  of  manuscripts.  Some  traveled 
to  Constantinople,  to  read  in  the  libraries  and  to  learn 
Greek  of  the  many  excellent  scholars  who  lived  and 
taught  there.  Some  founded  libraries  at  home,  and 
some  lectured  in  universities.  These  men  were  called 
humanists,  by  which  is  meant  persons  who  have  great 
interest  in  all  past  human  life  of  whatever  country  or 
age,  but  more  especially  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  life. 

Petrarch  and  Boccaccio  lived  much  of  the  time  in 
Florence,  which  was  the  center  of  this  new  movement 
in  learning.  Florence  is  a  city  in  northern  Italy,  and 
at  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century  was  the 
wealthiest  city  in  Europe.  There  were  twenty-three 
banks ;  many  retail  shops  of  silk  and  woolen  goods ; 
workshops  for  artists  in  marble,  gold  and  precious 
stones ;  there  were  two  hundred  and  seventy  ware- 
houses engaged  in  the  woolen  trade  alone,  and  many 
other  thriving  industries.  This  immense  commerce 
produced  many  rich  families  in  Florence,  who,  when 
they  became  wealthy,  began  to  build  fine  churches, 
public  buildings,  and  costly  palaces  in  which  to  live 
and  worship.  In  imitation  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans 
they  wished  to  make  these  buildings  and  the  gardens 
and  yards  about  them  luxurious  and  beautiful,  so  they 
began  to  employ  sculptors  and  painters  who  could 
make  beautiful  statues  for  the  buildings  and  paint 
beautiful  pictures  upon  the  walls  and  ceilings  of  the 
palaces  and  cathedrals.     This  led  a  great  number  of 


334  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

men  to  turn  their  attention  to  the  study  of  painting 
and  sculpture.  These  artists  naturally  turned  to  the 
work  of  the  old  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  especially  to 
the  Greeks,  to  get  their  models,  for,  as  we  have  learned, 
no  people  ever  surpassed  the  Greeks  as  artists. 

There  lived  in  Florence  at  the  beginning  of  the  fif- 
teenth century  a  very  wealthy  family  known  as  the  Medici 
family.  They  were  bankers  and  carried  on  commerce 
with  nearly  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  members  of 
this  family  were  likewise  great  lovers  of  art.  Thus  their 
immense  wealth  and  their  artistic  taste  both  together 
well  fitted  them  for  collecting  manuscripts  and  speci- 
mens of  art  from  all  quarters  of  the  earth.  Wherever 
they  found  a  rare  manuscript  or  a  fine  piece  of  art, 
they  had  money  with  which  to  buy  it.  They  built 
splendid  palaces,  fine  libraries  and  gorgeous  chapels. 
Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  called  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent, 
was  greatly  interested  in  art,  and  spent  much  time  and 
money  in  collecting  old  manuscripts,  pictures,  statues 
and  other  relics,  and  in  encouraging  men  to  study  art 
of  all  kinds.  He  lived  about  1400  a.d.,  and  many  of 
those  men  who  wished  to  study  painting  and  sculpture 
went  to  his  library.  Some  of  the  greatest  painters 
that  ever  lived  were  first  encouraged  by  him.  Among 
these  was  Michael  Angelo,  who  was  as  great  a  lover  of 
the  sculpture  of  Greece  as  Petrarch  and  Boccaccio  were 
of  the  literature.  Michael  Angelo  is  regarded  as  the 
greatest  sculptor  of  modern  times. 

Another  man  who  lived  about  the  time  of  Lorenzo 
and  became  intensely  interested  in  collecting  books 
and  old  relics  was  Niccolo  de'  Niccoli.  He  was  the 
son  of  a  merchant  in  Florence  and  inherited  a  modest 


THE   TEUTONS    LEARN   ART  AND   LITERATURE     335 

fortune.  He  gave  up  all  business  and  devoted  him- 
self entirely  to  the  collection  of  manuscripts  and  objects 
of  art.  He  spent  all  he  had  in  buying  books  and 
sometimes  even  went  in  debt  for  more.  He  came  to 
have  the  best  private  library  in  Florence,  having  it  is 
said  eight  hundred  manuscripts,  which  was  regarded 
a  large  library  for  that  day.  Many  of  these  books 
were  very  rare,  being  in  some  cases  the  only  copies 
existing  in  the  world.  Such  copies  were  often  worth 
vast  sums  of  money.  Niccoli  also  had  a  small  col- 
lection of  gems,  statues,  coins  and  pictures.  He  is 
said  to  have  known  more  about  manuscripts  than  any 
other  man  of  his  time.  All  the  great  men  of  his  day 
wrote  to  him  for  information.  He  was  much  more 
generous  with  his  library  than  most  men  of  his  time, 
being  the  first  collector  who  permitted  his  manuscripts 
to  be  copied  by  others ;  and  it  is  said  that  at  his  death 
there  were  two  hundred  of  his  copies  loaned  out. 
His  house  was  always  open  and  was  a  sort  of  free 
school  for  scholars  and  artists.  At  times  there  would 
be  a  dozen  or  so  young  men  quietly  reading  in  the 
library,  while  he  would  walk  about  the  room,  giving 
instruction  or  asking  questions  about  what  they  read. 
But  Petrarch,  Lorenzo  and  Niccoli  were  only  three 
of  the  many  men  who  spent  much  time  and  money  in 
searching  the  world  for  manuscripts  and  relics  of  art. 
Men  were  hired  to  go  in  search  of  manuscripts,  gems 
and  specimens  of  ancient  classical  art,  and  there  was 
no  lack  of  men  who  were  willing  to  go.  These  book- 
hunters  and  art-hunters  ransacked  the  old  monasteries 
from  cellar  to  garret  for  the  manuscripts  of  the  monks. 
Some  went  to  the  temples  of  Greece,  and  others  to  the 


336  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

museums  of  Constantinople.  As  the  Crusading  Knights 
spent  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  in  trying 
to  rescue  the  tomb  of  the  Savior  from  unholy  hands, 
and  were  thrice  blest  if  they  returned  with  relics  from 
Jerusalem,  so  these  Knights  of  the  New  Learning  spent 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  in  bringing  from 
their  musty  tombs  the  remains  of  the  great  geniuses  of 
Greece  and  Rome.  Every  corner  of  Europe  and  the 
East  was  ransacked  for  manuscripts,  and  whatever  was 
found  was  purchased  and  brought  back  to  Italy.  Some 
of  the  manuscripts  were  brown  with  age,  so  old,  indeed, 
that  the  writing  on  them  was  very  dim.  But  no  abbey, 
or  monastery,  or  library,  or  museum  was  so  far  away, 
and  no  manuscripts  so  moldy,  that  these  enthusiastic 
scholars  did  not  joyfully  search  them  out  and  feel 
repaid  if,  in  years  of  quest,  they  could  show  for  their 
labors  some  old  copy  of  Cicero,  or  some  ancient  copies 
of  the  Greek  poets  and  philosophers,  which  opened  anew 
to  them  the  delights  and  culture  of  the  classical  world. 

Now,  since  they  were  so  earnest  in  finding  old  manu- 
scripts, you  will  be  interested  to  know  what  they  did 
with  them  when  found.  Some  copied  them  on  fresh 
pieces  of  paper,  or  parchment,  bound  them  into  books, 
and  put  them  into  their  private  libraries,  while  others 
made  copies  of  books  to  sell  to  those  of  wealth  and  to 
the  universities.  Some  men  came  after  a  while  to  own 
large  libraries, — not  what  would  be  called  large  libraries 
to-day,  but  large  for  that  time.  Every  book  was  written 
with  pen  and  ink,  for  in  the  first  part  of  the  Renas- 
cence time  nothing  was  yet  known  of  printing. 

Students  from  other  countries,  who  had  caught  the 
enthusiasm  started  by  Petrarch,  longed  to  have  libraries 


THE   TEUTONS   LEARN   ART  AND   LITERATURE    337 

of  their  own,  so  they  came  to  the  libraries  of  these 
Italian  scholars  and  sometimes  spent  years  in  copying 
books.  These  copies  they  carried  home  with  them. 
Think  what  labor  and  patience  it  cost  a  student  in  that 
day  to  get  a  valuable  book,  say  Homer,  or  the  Bible,  as 
compared  with  the  present  time,  when  either  may  be  had 
for  fifty  cents.  So,  at  the  beginning  of  this  period  of 
which  we  are  studying,  about  1400  a.d.,  could  we  have 
been  in  Italy,  we  might  have  seen  men  starting  out  in  all 
directions  from  Florence,  and  from  other  centers  of  learn- 
ing, generally  on  foot,  to  hunt  for  manuscripts  and  relics 
of  art ;  others  returning  with  a  load  of  waxen  tablets  and 
musty  sheets  of  parchment  under  their  arms  or  strapped 
to  their  backs  ;  others  going  empty  handed  toward  Italy, 
to  copy  these  manuscripts  and  carry  them  back  home. 

Thus,  you  see,  the  first  work  of  the  Renascence  was, 
in  the  main,  to  get  together  collections  of  ancient  writ- 
ings, and  distribute  them  slowly  to  a  few  other  scholars 
by  means  of  copies  made  by  hand. 

But  what  was  all  this  material  worth  if  it  could  not 
be  read  ?  Most  scholars  in  the  early  Renascence  period 
could  read  Latin,  for  the  monasteries  had  taught  Latin, 
and  all  books  in  western  Europe  were  written  in  that  lan- 
guage ;  but  there  were  very  few  in  western  Europe  at  that 
time  who  could  read  Greek.  How  to  read  the  Greek 
language,  was  the  next  question  which  they  set  about  to 
answer.  As  already  said,  Petrarch  induced  Boccaccio 
to  study  Greek.  This  he  did  enthusiastically,  but  never 
became  a  good  Greek  scholar.  Many  others  followed 
him,  inspired  by  his  example.  One  great  difficulty  was 
that  they  had  no  encyclopedias,  dictionaries,  or  gram- 
mars as  we  have  now,  so  you  can  imagine  what  a  hard 


338  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

task  they  had  when  they  began  to  interpret  the  Greek 
poets,  philosophers  and  historians.  The  task  was  both 
a  hard  and  a  long  one,  but  step  by  step  Greek  scholars 
began  to  appear  in  the  West.  Some  students,  in  their 
enthusiasm,  went  to  Greece  to  learn  the  language  there, 
just  as  we  would  have  to  do  to-day  if  the  Greeks  were 
the  only  people  in  the  world  who  understood  Greek, 
and  there  were  no  books  to  help  us  in  the  study  of  that 
language.  When  the  Turks  took  Constantinople,  in 
1453,  many  Greeks  went  to  Italy  and  carried  with  them 
Greek  grammars,  dictionaries  and  manuscripts.  Some 
of  these  men  were  hired  to  teach  literature  in  the 
schools  and  universities  of  Italy,  while  some  traveled 
about  from  town  to  town,  giving  lectures  upon  Plato, 
Aristotle,  Herodotus,  Homer  and  others.  Thousands 
of  people  eagerly  listened  to  these  lectures  and  took 
notes  upon  what  they  heard.  In  this  way  learning  and 
the  passion  for  the  old  classical  life  were  diffused 
throughout  Italy. 

All  this  study  produced,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  a 
number  of  great  scholars,  who  became  experts  in  using 
the  learned  languages.  These  scholars  began  to  sift 
and  classify  and  explain  the  great  mass  of  material 
which  they  had  collected.  They  found  many  mistakes 
which  had  been  made  in  copying,  especially  in  the 
Latin  writings  produced  in  the  monasteries  during  the 
most  ignorant  times  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Many  of  the 
old  books  had  been  copied  and  recopied  several  times, 
and  each  time  they  were  recopied  new  mistakes  had 
crept  in.  Some  of  the  monks  were  very  careful  in 
their  copying,  while  others  were  just  as  careless.  This 
led  the  scholars  to  say,  "  We'll  go  back  to  the  original 


THE    TEUTONS    LEARN   ART   AND    LITERATURE     339 

copy  and  find  out  just  what  the  first  writer  actually  said 
and  thought  about  this  or  that  thing."  They  thus 
began  to  compare  the  earliest  manuscripts  they  could 
find  with  the  later  ones. 

Thus  they  began  to  be  critical  and  independent  in 
their  thought,  and  when  this  habit  grew  and  spread  it 
produced  a  great  expansion  and  stir  and  independence 
in  men's  minds.  The  universities  and  lower  schools, 
the  church,  the  governments,  science,  art,  literature,  — 
everything  began  to  feel  that  a  new  life  was  warming 
Europe  and  opening  up  new  views,  as  truly  as  the 
sunshine  opens  the  buds  in  the  springtime.  The  old 
Greek  thought  was  far  freer  and  richer  in  many  ways 
than  the  views  which  had  been  taught  in  the  monas- 
tery during  the  Middle  Ages.  Some  of  these  scholars 
began  to  study  the  governments  under  which  they  lived, 
and  in  some  cases  to  criticise  their  tyranny  and  oppres- 
sion. Others  began  to  study  nature,  especially  the 
stars  and  the  motions  of  the  earth,  and  to  say  that 
people  had  been  taught  wrong  ideas  about  the  universe. 
"The  earth  is  round,"  they  said,  " instead  of  flat,  and 
revolves  around  the  sun  instead  of  the  sun  revolving 
around  it."  "The  sun,  and  not  the  earth,  is  the  center 
of  the  universe."  These  are  a  few  of  the  most  impor- 
tant things  they  began  to  think  and  say,  and  to  be 
much  criticised  for  saying,  for  it  took  a  long  while  to 
get  most  people  to  believe  them.  Growing  out  of 
this  new  idea  of  the  shape  and  motion  of  the  earth  was 
the  courageous  and  self-reliant  trip  of  Columbus  across 
the  Atlantic,  in  which  he  discovered  the  New  World. 

These  students  of  Greek  and  Roman  literature  like- 
wise began  to  study   Hebrew  literature  found  in   the 


340  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

Bible,  and  to  say,  "  Now  here  are  certain  traditions  and 
ideas  about  religion  that  have  been  taught  by  religious 
teachers  which  we  believe  are  not  true.  The  teachers 
of  the  time  have  been  studying  copies  of  the  Bible  in 
which  there  were  many  mistakes.  The  only  right 
method  of  gaining  a  true  knowledge  of  Christianity  is 
to  go  to  the  original  sources  of  it."  Thus  in  some  cases 
they  began  to  attack  some  of  the  teachings  and  prac- 
tices of  the  church.  Some  of  the  monasteries  had  be- 
come hiding-places  for  immoral  men,  others  had  become 
places  of  idleness.  Some  of  the  monks  and  bishops 
had  become  corrupt  and  were  not  living  simple,  unselfish 
lives  such  as  was  the  custom  in  the  early  Church.  Peo- 
ple were  not  allowed  to  worship  freely  in  the  way  they 
thought  best,  as  we  can  all  do  now,  and  they  were 
required  in  many  cases  to  pay  a  very  high  tax  for  the 
support  of  the  Church.  Those  who  were  growing  more 
independent  began  to  criticise  these  practices  quite  fear- 
lessly. One  of  the  leaders,  who  made  very  witty  and 
stinging  criticisms,  was  an  eminent  scholar  by  the  name  of 
Erasmus.  In  his  criticisms  he  did  not  spare  kings,  popes, 
or  bishops,  but  spoke  his  mind  very  freely.  About  1 5 16 
he  made  a  Greek  copy  of  the  New  Testament,  and 
pointed  out  many  errors  in  the  Latin  New  Testament, 
which  was  the  one  used  through  the  Middle  Ages. 
Criticism  of  the  traditions,  doctrines  and  practices  of 
the  members  of  the  Church,  like  these  we  have  just 
spoken  about,  finally  led  some  members  of  the  Church 
to  leave  it  and  establish  another  branch  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  called  the  Protestant,  meaning  by  Protes- 
tant that  they  protested  against  the  ideas  and  practices 
we  have  just  been  speaking  about. 


THE    TEUTONS   LEARN    ART   AND   LITERATURE     341 

Thus  far  in  our  study  of  the  Renascence,  we  have 
seen  that  the  libraries  in  Italy  became  beehives  for 
scholars  and  artists,  and  that  there  grew  up  there  many 
men  who  were  skillful  in  the  use  of  both  the  Greek  and 
the  Latin  languages,  and  that  many  other  persons  were 
no  less  skilled  in  using  the  brush  and  the  chisel. 
If  we  could  have  visited  the  palaces  of  one  of  those 
wealthy  merchants,  say  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent,  in 
the  fifteenth  century,  we  would  have  seen,  in  addition 
to  the  library,  statues  of  marble  in  the  splendid  halls, 
the  rarest  paintings  on  the  walls,  carved  furniture 
and  the  richest  tapestries  ornamenting  the  rooms ;  and 
the  tables  laden  with  rare  porcelains,  glassware  and 
gold  and  silver  plate. 

How  different  from  all  this  was  the  home  of  the  plain, 
sturdy  Teuton,  who  lived  all  his  years  on  a  little  farm 
in  some  quiet  valley  or  in  a  little  hut  on  the  mountain  side. 
For  a  long  time  the  happier,  brighter  life  which  the 
Renascence  was  bringing  to  Europe  did  not  touch  his  life. 
He  had  no  books,  no  pictures,  no  statues  to  ornament  his 
home,  and  in  most  cases  only  the  chairs  and  furniture 
which  he  had  rudely  worked  out  by  hand.  How  was 
he  ever  to  get  into  touch  with  this  new-blossoming  life  ? 
How  could  the  new  learning  which  was  coming  to  the 
palaces  of  the  wealthy  and  well-born  be  given  forth  so 
that  the  cottages  of  the  common  people  would  become 
happier  because  the  newer  and  freer  thought  had  entered 
them.  Just  at  the  time  when  this  new  life  was  budding 
and  many  people  were  beginning  to  thirst  for  new 
knowledge,  a  means  was  invented  for  multiplying,  cheap- 
ening and  spreading  it,  so  that  everybody  —  rich  and 
poor  alike  —  might  share  in  its  uplifting  influence. 


342  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

About  1450  the  printing  press  was  invented,  and  this 
machine  finally  came  to  be  the  greatest  means  in 
modern  times  for  spreading  the  new  learning  over  the 
entire  world.  We  learned  in  the  early  grades  how  the 
Egyptians  wrote  on  stone  and  papyrus,  the  Babylonians 
on  bricks,  the  Greeks  and  Romans  on  wax  tablets  and 
parchment,  and  the  monks  of  the  Middle  Ages  on 
parchment,  or  vellum.  During  the  Crusades  the  Euro- 
peans learned  from  the  Arabians  how  to  make  paper, 
so  that,  at  the  time  the  printing  press  came  into  use, 
paper  was  becoming  plentiful.  Paper  soon  became 
much  cheaper  than  parchment,  and  by  this  means  the 
poor  as  well  as  the  rich  came  to  have  cheap  writing- 
material.  Not  only  this,  but  cheaper  paper  greatly  en- 
couraged printing,  and  with  the  printing  press,  when  it 
was  perfected,  a  thousand  books  could  be  made  in  the 
time  which  it  had  taken  to  make  one  when  all  the  work 
was  done  by  hand. 

But  we  must  not  think  that  the  printing  press  sprang 
into  existence  all  at  once.  Like  the  steamboat,  the 
telegraph,  and  all  great  inventions,  it  had  its  infancy, 
and  it  took  many  years  for  it  to  grow  into  the  perfect 
and  complex  machine  that  it  is  to-day.  If  you  would 
take  a  wooden  block  and  with  penknife  carve  your 
name  upon  it  so  that  the  letters  would  be  raised,  then 
smear  ink  over  the  letters  and  stamp  your  name  upon  a 
piece  of  paper,  you  would  see  what  the  printing  press 
was  like  in  its  very  beginnings. 

The  first  printers  had  presses  made  entirely  of  wood, 
and  as  a  rule  printed  but  one  page  at  a  time.  The 
wooden  board  into  which  the  type  were  set,  was  fas- 
tened to  the  end  of  a  wooden  screw,  which  worked  in  a 


THE   TEUTONS   LEARN   ART   AND   LITERATURE     343 

hole  in  the  frame  very  much  like  the  large  screw  works 
in  a  cider  press.  The  sheets  of  paper  upon  which  the 
printing  was  done  were  placed  upon  a  flat,  level  surface 
underneath  the  board  that  held  the  type.  Ink  was  then 
smeared  over  the  type,  after  which  the  type  was  pressed 
down  upon  the  paper  by  turning  the  screw  in  which 
was  fastened  a  wooden  handle.  There  were  generally 
two  men  to  one  press,  one  who  daubed  two  big  soft 
balls,  soaked  with  ink,  over  all  the  type,  and  another 
who  placed  the  paper  in  place  and  turned  the  screw. 
We  can  easily  see  that  when  they  had  the  type  set  for 
printing  a  page,  they  could  print  many  pages  in  the 
same  time  that  it  took  them  to  write  a  single  one  with 
pen  and  ink. 

But  the  printing  press  was  a  long  time  in  growing  to 
a  stage  where  it  was  of  much  use.  It  required  careful 
and  skillful  workmen  to  prepare  the  type ;  and  it  was 
many  years  before  men  were  able  to  make  type  smooth 
enough  so  that  when  they  were  set  and  ready  for  print- 
ing they  would  press  down  upon  the  paper  alike.  If 
one  letter  was  a  little  longer  than  the  others,  a  blot  was 
sure  to  be  made  in  printing.  It  was  also  quite  a  long 
time  before  an  ink  was  invented  that  would  work  satis- 
factorily in  printing.  The  chemistry  which  the  Cru- 
saders learned  from  the  Arabs  finally  helped  them  to  a 
successful  ink. 

When  a  machine  that  would  print  well  was  finally 
perfected,  a  whole  book  could  be  printed  more  quickly 
than  a  single  page  could  be  written  by  hand,  and  it  was 
not  long  until  printed  copies  of  the  old  parchments,  of 
the  tablets,  of  the  Bible,  and  criticisms  upon  these  by 
great  scholars,  were  scattered  over  all   Europe.      We 


344  SCHOOL   HISTORY. 

can  scarcely  realize  what  a  change  this  must  have 
made;  but  suppose  there  were  no  books  in  our  state 
except  at  the  state  capital  and  a  few  of  the  other 
large  cities,  and  that  if  we  wanted  a  copy,  say  of  Rob- 
inson Crusoe,  or  the  Bible,  we  should  have  to  go  to  one 
of  these  towns  and  read  it,  or  sit  down  with  pen  and 
ink  and  copy  it,  do  you  suppose  that  many  people  would 
have  books  ?  Certainly  not.  But  with  the  invention  of 
printing,  things  were  greatly  changed.  The  printing 
press  meant  that  everybody  could  have  books,  and 
when  everybody  came  to  have  them  they  began  to  want 
to  learn  how  to  read  them.  Thus  universities  were 
increased,  and  finally  people  in  the  most  advanced 
countries  began  to  build  schoolhouses,  where  the  chil- 
dren of  all  classes  could  go  and  learn  to  read.  In  fact 
the  very  schoolhouses  in  which  we  ourselves  are  study- 
ing, and  the  things  we  study  in  them,  came  to  us  largely 
through  the  Renascence  and  the  printing  press. 

Thus  it  came  about  that  this  culture  and  learning  of 
which  we  have  been  speaking  was  no  longer  confined 
to  a  few  universities  and  a  few  wealthy  men,  but  began 
to  be  given  out  to  all  classes.  This  meant  greater 
liberty  of  thought  and  speech  and  more  abundant  life 
for  all.  It  meant  a  stronger  national  life  for  those 
nations  which  could  take  it  up,  for  learning  and  culture 
are  a  strength  and  safeguard  to  the  life  of  a  people 
in  even  a  truer  sense  than  forts  and  armies  are.  An 
ignorant  nation  is  likely  to  be  a  weak  nation. 

There  was  another  thing  which  came  into  use  in  the 
middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  which  did  very  much 
toward  freeing  the  common  people  and  preparing  them 
to  take  advantage  of  the  new  thought  and  life  of  the 


THE   TEUTONS   LEARN   ART   AND   LITERATURE     345 

Renascence.  This  was  gunpowder,  which  had  been 
introduced  into  Europe  from  the  East  by  the  Crusaders. 
The  use  of  gunpowder  in  firearms  made  it  possible  for 
the  common  people  to  fight  on  an  equality  with  the 
nobility,  since  a  peasant  could  handle  a  gun  as  well  as  a 
lord.  Before  gunpowder  was  used  the  great  barons, 
being  better  armed,  could,  if  they  chose,  go  out  among 
their  neighbors,  steal  or  plunder  what  they  wanted,  re- 
turn and  shut  themselves  in  their  strongly  fortified  castles, 
where  they  would  be  safe  from  all  attacks.  Men  often 
tried  to  make  machines  with  which  to  batter  down  the 
walls  of  the  castle,  but  it  required  a  great  amount  of 
work  to  make  them,  and  when  made  they  were  very 
uncertain.  When  gunpowder  came  into  use  the  peas- 
ants could  stand  off  at  a  distance,  and  with  cannon 
easily  knock  down  the  walls  of  the  stately  castle.  The 
castle  down,  the  peasant  with  a  gun  was  able  to  defend 
himself  from  the  lord  and  to  demand  greater  justice 
from  him. 

Gunpowder  also  aided  in  producing  in  the  lower  and 
middle  classes  a  number  of  people  who  had  leisure, 
and  who  therefore  could  have  time  for  studying  the  new 
literature  and  art  which  the  Renascence  was  producing. 
Before  gunpowder  was  invented,  during  the  feudal 
times,  every  man  had  to  hold  himself  in  readiness  to 
go  to  war  whenever  his  lord  or  king  called  upon  him. 
When  artillery  came  into  use,  it  was  found  that  a  small 
army  with  firearms  could  accomplish  as  much  as  all 
the  people  formerly  could  with  bows  and  arrows, 
especially  if  the  small  army  were  well  drilled.  Thus 
it  came  about  that,  instead  of  compelling  every  man  to 
hold  himself  in  readiness,  each  nation  created  a  standing 


346  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

army,  —  that  is,  an  army  which  was  paid  by  the  nation 
and  was  always  kept  in  readiness  for  war.  The  stand- 
ing army  was  also  partly  brought  about  by  the  fact 
that  many  men  could  not  afford  to  buy  guns  when  gun- 
powder came  into  use.  Thus  many  of  the  common 
people  were  set  free  to  look  after  their  affairs  at  home 
and  to  accumulate  wealth.  Wealth  led  to  leisure,  and 
this  in  turn  gradually  gave  an  opportunity  for  many  in 
all  classes  to  take  up  the  new  learning,  to  build  more 
comfortable  homes,  and  to  surround  themselves  with 
the  beautiful  and  refining  influences  of  ancient  Greece 
and  Rome,  now  spreading  all  over  Europe  by  means  of 
that  greatest  invention,  perhaps,  ever  made  by  man, 
—  the  printing  press. 

Thus  you  see  how,  in  the  two  hundred  years  from 
1350  to  1550  a.d.,  the  Teuton  of  southern  Europe  came 
fully  to  appreciate  the  rich  inheritance  left  him  by 
Greece  and  Rome;  and  having  come  to  appreciate  it, 
carried  it  forward  from  southern  into  northern  and 
western  Europe,  and  by  means  of  university,  printing 
press,  book  and,  finally,  newspaper,  gave  it  out  to  the 
poor  as  well  as  to  the  rich.  From  this  time  forward,  a 
nation,  to  be  strong  itself  and  to  produce  strong  men 
able  to  compete  with  others,  must  give  free  develop- 
ment to  these  great  agents  of  freedom.  The  nation 
which  does  this  will  have  a  continual  re-birth  (Renas- 
cence) by  the  new  life  which  flows  into  it ;  the  nation 
that  closes  up  these  currents  which  bring  new  life  will 
sicken,  weaken  and  die. 


THE   TEUTONS   LEARN   ART   AND    LITERATURE     347 

References 

Seebohm  :  Era  of  the  Protestant  Revolution.    Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 

Histories  of  Middle  Ages  as  already  given. 

Lacroix :  Science  and  Literature  in  the  Middle  Ages  (well  illus- 
trated).    Virtue  &  Co.,  London. 

Field :  An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Renaissance ;  Scrib- 
ner's  Sons,  N.Y. 

Burckhardt :  The  Renaissance  in  Italy;  Macmillan  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

Petrarch  :  Correspondence  with  Boccaccio  and  Other  Friends  ;  Put- 
nam's Sons,  N.Y. 

Kemp :  Outline  of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools ;  Ginn 
&  Co.,  Boston. 

See  articles  in  good  cyclopedias  on  Renascence,  Revival  of  Learn- 
ing, Invention  of  Printing,  Invention  of  Gunpowder. 

Study  the  lives  of  Petrarch,  Lorenzo  de1  Medici,  Raphael,  Michael 
Angelo,  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Gutenberg,  Galileo,  Henry  the 
Navigator,  Columbus. 


HOW  THE  REFORMATION  CAME  ABOUT, 
AND  HOW  IT  INFLUENCED  HISTORY 
IN    EUROPE  AND   AMERICA 

I55O-165O  A.D. 

The  word  Reformation  comes  from  two  Latin  words, 
"formare,"  meaning  to  form,  and  "re,"  again.  Thus 
the  word  means  to  form  again.  Now  we  wish  to  see 
what  was  formed  again,  or  made  over,  and  where  it  was 
done,  and  when. 

You  have  already  seen  how  the  Renascence  woke  up 
southern  Europe  from  her  slumber,  and  set  the  scholars 
hunting  up  old  books  and  writing  new  ones ;  and  how, 
before  the  Renascence,  the  Crusades  brought  new  life 
to  commerce,  and  made  Europe  and  Asia  join  hands 
by  means  of  great  trade  routes  which  extended  from 
one  end  of  the  Mediterranean  to  the  other.  Now,  just 
as  broader  ideas  were  coming  to  the  minds  of  men  in 
trade  and  learning,  so  also  were  many  persons  getting 
finer  and  fresher  ideas  about  religion ;  and  these  new 
ideas  led  to  new  life  in  the  Christian  Church,  or  Cath- 
olic Church,  as  it  was  then  called,  since  its  ideal  was 
to  spread  Christianity  over  the  entire  world. 

The  period  when  the  idea  of  reforming  the  Church 
took  hold  of  the  people  so  deeply  that  they  talked  and 
struggled  for  it  more  than  for  any  other  one  thing  was  the 
sixteenth  century  ;  that  is,  the  century  just  following  the 
discovery  of  America.     But  we  must  keep  our  minds 

348 


GROWTH   OF   FREE   RELIGIOUS   DISCUSSION     349 

free  from  thinking  that  the  Reformation  sprang  up  all 
at  once,  as  a  mushroom  springs  up,  so  to  speak,  during 
the  night.  Instead  of  this,  everything  which  helped  to 
open  the  minds  of  people  to  new  thought  for  four  or 
five  centuries  before  the  sixteenth  was  a  step  which 
led,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  to  the  Reformation. 
Let  us  very  briefly  review  these  steps  and  see  how 
they  lead  to  this  one  common  point. 

First,  during  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries 
came  the  Crusades;  and  these  two  hundred  years  of 
travel  between  Europe  and  Asia  wonderfully  opened 
the  eyes  and  minds  of  the  travelers,  as  travel  generally 
does ;  then  came,  as  a  result  of  acquaintance  with  the 
lands  around  the  Mediterranean,  a  passionate  love  for 
the  old  literature  —  especially  for  Greek  and  Latin  lit- 
erature ;  this  began  in  the  fourteenth  century,  and  no 
manuscript  was  too  musty,  or  dim,  or  too  hard  to  read, 
to  keep  the  scholars  from  cleaning  the  dust  off  of  it 
and  reading  it ;  thus  the  springs  of  Greek  and  Roman 
thought  began  to  flow  again  and  refresh  the  minds  of 
western  Europe  ;  then,  right  in  the  middle  of  the  Renas- 
cence movement  (1453),  the  barbaric  Turks,  in  moving 
westward  from  Asia,  conquered  Contantinople,  which 
had  been  for  a  thousand  years  the  storehouse  of  much 
of  the  old  Greek  writing.  This  drove  the  scholars  west- 
ward, but  as  they  went  they  carried  with  them  their 
precious  manuscripts  as  a  miser  would  his  gold;  thus 
was  Europe  further  enriched  by  what  the  old  times  had 
to  teach,  and  thousands  of  scholars  began  to  study  the 
history,  the  literature,  the  philosophy  and  the  art  of  old 
Greece  and  Rome ;  then,  as  we  have  already  seen,  print- 
ing was  invented  about  1445,  which  opened  the  doors  to 


350  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

a  higher  and  finer  life  to  common  people,  as  the  univer- 
sities had  opened  new  realms  of  thought  to  the  well- 
born. Then  came  the  difficulty  about  paper,  for  the 
materials  out  of  which  paper  was  made,  and  especially 
parchment,  had  grown  so  scarce  and  costly  that  the 
price  of  books  was  as  high  as  ever ;  but  with  the  inven- 
tion of  linen  paper,  about  1300,  and  the  immediate 
growth  thereafter  of  the  paper-making  trade,  the  cost 
of  books  was  greatly  reduced,  which  made  it  possible 
for  more  people  to  have  them. 

You  might  think  now  that  with  the  printing  press  and 
cheap  paper  secured,  all  the  people  would  have  books 
and  be  able  to  read  and  study  them.  But  you  must 
remember  that  the  books  were  written  mostly  in  Greek 
and  Latin,  and  that  not  many  at  this  time  could  read 
Latin,  while  very  few  indeed  could  read  Greek.  To 
overcome  this  difficulty,  learned  scholars  who  could  read 
these  languages  gathered  at  the  great  university  centers 
which  had  grown  up  in  Europe  mainly  during  the 
fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries,  and  began  to  teach 
the  Greek  and  Latin  languages  and  literature  to  the 
scholars  who  could  come  to  them.  So,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  the  great  mass  of  the  people  could  not 
read  the  ancient  classics,  and  only  a  few,  comparatively, 
could  go  to  the  universities,  yet  what  was  discussed 
there  was  more  fully  and  freely  discussed  than  it  had 
been  in  the  monastic  schools,  and  as  these  new  ideas 
slowly  trickled  down  among  the  people,  the  great  mass 
gradually  came  to  know  and  think  about  them,  and 
catch  glimpses  of  a  freer  life. 

It  was  the  custom  too,  in  that  day,  for  the  scholars 
to  pass  from  one  university  to  another,  spending  say  a 


GROWTH    OF   FREE    RELIGIOUS    DISCUSSION     351 

year  or  so  in  Oxford  in  England,  then  another  in  Paris 
or  Orleans  in  France,  thence  on  to  Prague  or  Heidel- 
berg in  Germany,  and  then  on  to  Padua  or  some  other 
great  university  in  Italy.  In  this  way  the  new  thought 
which  was  taught  at  any  one  university  would  soon  be 
scattered  more  or  less  all  over  Europe. 

Some  of  the  earliest  scholars  who  attended  several  of 
the  great  universities  lived  in  England.  They  studied 
first  at  Oxford  and  then  went  to  Italy,  where  the  oppor- 
tunity was  especially  good  for  learning  Greek  and 
Latin.  John  Colet  was  one  of  these  scholars.  He  was 
the  son  of  a  lord  mayor  of  London  and  inherited  a  for- 
tune from  his  father ;  but  after  studying  much  in  Italy, 
he  returned  to  England  and  spent  his  life  and  fortune 
in  trying  to  give  his  country  a  simple  Christianity  based 
on  the  Golden  Rule,  and  also  a  better  opportunity  for 
the  common  people  to  educate  themselves.  He  estab- 
lished a  school  in  London  for  boys,  taught  it  himself, 
and  even  wrote  the  text-books  which  the  children 
studied. 

Thomas  More  was  another  great  scholar  of  the  time. 
He  especially  helped  on  the  movement  toward  freer 
thought  by  writing  a  book,  "  Utopia,"  in  which  he  de- 
scribed the  manners  and  customs  of  an  ideal  country  : 
in  this  country  the  people  should  elect  their  own  officers, 
make  their  own  laws,  carry  on  very  little  war,  all  be 
able  to  read  and  write,  and  all  be  well  off  instead  of 
having  the  wealth  in  the  hands  of  kings,  princes  and 
lords,  as  was  the  case  to  a  great  extent  in  all  European 
countries  at  that  time. 

Still  another  very  learned  scholar  was  Erasmus, 
whom  we  learned  something  about  when  studying  the 


352  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

Renascence.  He  was  an  orphan  and  poor.  In  youth 
he  had  been  placed  in  a  monastery  by  his  guardians, 
but  when  he  came  of  age  he  left  the  monastery,  and  by 
giving  lessons  to  private  pupils  gained  the  means  to  se- 
cure an  excellent  education  at  the  University  of  Paris ; 
then  he  went  to  Oxford  and  became  a  fellow-pupil  of 
Colet  and  More,  possessing  with  them  a  passionate  love 
for  Greek,  Latin  and  the  literature  of  the  Romans  and 
Greeks.  But  he,  like  others,  was  not  satisfied  till  he 
had  traveled  to  Italy  and  studied  under  the  great 
teachers  who  taught  there.  While  he  was  in  Italy  he 
was  near  Rome,  — the  very  head  of  the  Church,  — and 
observed  how  worldly  many  of  its  officers  had  become, 
the  way  they  mixed  themselves  up  with  political  mat- 
ters, and  gave  their  time  to  striving  for  power,  pleasure 
and  money.  A  man  as  learned  as  Erasmus  was  sure  to 
hate  such  trifling  with  religious  matters  as  he  saw  in 
many  of  the  clergy,  and  as  he  rode  back  through  Europe 
from  Italy  toward  England  on  horseback,  he  devised 
a  plan  for  rebuking  them  for  their  trifling  and  vice. 
When  he  came  to  his  old  friend,  Thomas  More,  in 
London,  he  stopped  for  a  time  before  going  on  to  Cam- 
bridge University,  where  he  was  to  teach  Greek.  In 
More's  house  he  wrote  a  book,  "  The  Praise  of  Folly," 
in  which  he  very  wittily  ridiculed  teachers  and  preach- 
ers who  knew  but  little  but  pretended  to  know  every- 
thing. He  described  monks  as  shut  out  of  heaven 
because  they  had  grown  to  be  trifling  and  lazy ;  and  he 
even*  criticised  the  Pope,  Julius  II,  by  saying  that  in- 
stead of  "  leaving  all "  as  St.  Peter  did,  he  was  trying 
by  war  and  conquest  to  add  continually  to  St.  Peter's 
possessions.     This  book,  which  was,  perhaps,  sometimes 


GROWTH   OF   FREE   RELIGIOUS   DISCUSSION    353 

too  severe  in  what  it  said  about  both  monks  and  popes, 
was  printed  and  sold  broadcast,  and  many  people  opened 
their  eyes  to  the  weak  spots  Erasmus  pointed  out,  and 
began  to  laugh  at  the  follies  which  he  held  up  to  ridicule. 

Then  Erasmus  went  on  to  Cambridge  University,  and 
for  years  taught  and  studied  Greek,  till  he  wrote  a  book 
which  did  more  than  any  other  one  thing  to  give  new  and 
fresh  thought  to  his  time.  This  was  the  New  Testa- 
ment, containing  in  two  columns,  side  by  side,  the  origi- 
nal Greek  and  a  new  Latin  translation  of  his  own.  He 
was  thus  able  to  place  before  the  people  a  picture  of  the 
daily  life  of  Christ  and  His  Apostles  in  all  the  freshness 
of  the  original  language.  This  book  was  much  studied 
at  the  universities,  and  presently  it  was  translated  into 
the  language  of  the  common  people,  and  thus  they 
came  to  have  a  Bible  which  they  could  read  as  well  as 
the  clergy.  "  I  wish,"  Erasmus  said,  in  his  preface  to 
his  New  Testament,  "  that  even  the  weakest  woman 
should  read  the  Gospels  —  should  read  the  Epistles  of 
Paul;  and  I  wish  they  were  translated  into  all  lan- 
guages, so  that  they  might  be  read  and  understood  not 
only  by  Scots  and  Irishmen,  but  also  by  Turks  and  Sara- 
cens. I  long  that  the  husbandman  should  sing  portions 
of  them  to  himself  as  he  follows  the  plow;  that  the 
weaver  should  hum  them  to  the  tune  of  his  shuttle ;  that 
the  traveler  should  beguile  with  their  stories  the  tedium 
of  his  journey." 

Thus  you  see,  by  travel,  books,  printing,  cheap  paper, 
and  universities  where  thousands  of  young,  ambitious 
scholars  gathered  for  discussion  and  study,  Europe 
was  being  sown  with  germs  of  new  thought.  Old 
things  in  philosophy,  literature,  government  and  religion 


354  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

were  no  longer  believed  by  the  most  thoughtful  simply 
because  they  were  old;  many  were  examining  the  old 
theories  of  religion,  government  and  education,  and  wish- 
ing to  push  forward  to  newer  truths  and  broader  views. 

But  just  as  the  Bible  speaks  of  the  sower  who  sowed 
seed  on  different  kinds  of  soil,  some  producing  abun- 
dant harvest  and  others  none  at  all,  so  the  seeds  of  new 
thought  scattered  over  Europe  in  the  first  part  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  especially  new  thought  on  reli- 
gion, sprang  up  in  some  countries  rapidly  and.  in  others 
it  was  choked  out. 

Let  us  now  see  how  it  grew  in  different  places. 

There  was  one  country  where  the  soil  was  in  many 
ways  just  ready  to  receive  the  seed  of  independent 
thought.  This  was  Germany.  Perhaps  if  you  could 
have  seen  the  people  in  that  country,  you  would  have 
wondered  how  this  could  be.  The  Germans  who  lived 
in  the  cities  were  well  off  and  had  many  comforts  and 
privileges.  The  peasants  on  the  farms,  however,  were 
generally  downtrodden  and  half-fed,  to  say  nothing  of 
comforts  and  rights.  The  central  government  was 
very  weak,  Germany  being  still  cut  up  by  the  feudal 
possessions  of  numerous  lords.  Thus  the  peasants 
had  no  one  to  appeal  to  when  they  were  oppressed. 
They  were  obliged  to  work  for  the  lords  without 
pay  except  the  miserable  living  which  they  obtained 
from  the  land.  At  the  end  of  the  year  the  feudal  lord 
took  the  best  of  the  crops  and  cattle;  the  Church  a 
tithe  of  all  they  produced,  that  is,  a  tenth  of  the  grain, 
every  tenth  calf,  pig,  chicken,  egg,  etc.  Being  naturally 
a  vigorous,  healthy  race  of  people,  living  in  a  bracing 
climate,  and,  as  we  saw  in  the  Fifth-Grade  work,  natu- 


GROWTH   OF   FREE   RELIGIOUS   DISCUSSION     355 

rally  disposed  to  free  life,  the  Germans  grew  tired  of 
being  oppressed,  and  were  ready  for  the  new  ideas  that 
were  now  being  spread  abroad.  It  is  but  natural,  then, 
that  the  greatest  reformer  of  all  this  time  should  come 
from  the  people  who  were  great  lovers  of  freedom,  and 
who,  though  they  had  been  crushed  by  a  thousand  years, 
of  Feudalism,  still  had  in  mind  ideas  of  personal  liberty 
which  if  they  could  have  a  leader  would  burst  forth  with 
great  power. 

This  great  leader  of  the  time  in  religious  matters  was 
Martin  Luther.  His  great-grandfather  and  grandfather 
were  Saxon  peasants.  His  father  was  a  miner.  Thus 
he  sprang  from  the  common  people  and  his  early  life 
was  spent  amid  very  lowly  conditions. 

He  was  nine  years  old  when  Columbus  set  sail  across 
the  Atlantic,  being  fifteen  years  younger  than  Erasmus. 
His  early  home  training  was  very  severe,  and  his  school 
life  while  a  boy  was  stern  and  hard.  Although  not  a 
bad  boy,  he  was  often  whipped  at  school. 

His  first  home  was  at  Eisleben,  a  mining  town  in 
Saxony,  but  his  parents  afterward  moved  to  Magdeburg, 
a  town  about  seventy-five  miles  southwest  of  Berlin,  and 
Luther  attended  school  there.  After  staying  a  year  at 
Magdeburg,  he  went  to  Eisenach,  another  neighboring 
town,  to  study.  Here  he  studied  reading,  writing,  arith- 
metic and  music.  His  parents  being  poor,  it  became 
necessary  for  Luther  to  make  his  own  way  at  school.  He 
partly  did  this  by  singing  on  the  streets.  His  beautiful 
tenor  voice  and  polite  manners  made  warm  friends  for 
him;  and  making  his  own  way  only  taught  him  that 
self-reliance  which  served  him  so  well  in  his  great 
battles  in  after  life. 


356  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

He  did  so  well  in  his  studies  that  his  father  deter- 
mined to  make  him  a  lawyer,  and  by  great  economy  sent 
him  to  Erfurt  University,  one  of  the  old  universities  in 
central  Germany.  Here  he  studied  philosophy,  Greek 
and  Latin,  and  became  one  of  the  best  students  there. 

Some  time  before  graduating,  a  trifling  thing  hap- 
pened which  changed  the  whole  course  of  his  life. 
One  day  he  found  a  Latin  Bible  while  looking  through 
some  of  the  university  books.  It  was  the  first  Bible  he 
had  ever  seen,  and  with  the  greatest  delight  he  read  the 
pages  again  and  again.  He  was  surprised  to  find  how 
much  there  was  in  it;  for  in  the  religious  services 
which  he  had  gone  through  with  from  childhood  in  the 
monastery  he  had  heard  only  the  meager  quotations  of 
the  monks.  To  get  the  whole  Bible  and  read  the  chap- 
ters and  books  through  in  connection,  was  to  him  like 
reading  a  wholly  new  book.  He  began  to  think  about 
what  he  read,  and  a  new  world  of  religious  life  slowly 
dawned  upon  him. 

Luther,  as  I  have  already  said,  was  reared  among 
peasant  people,  who  were  superstitious  ;  and  he  therefore 
naturally  inherited  some  superstitious  ideas  himself,  some 
of  which  clung  to  him  to  the  end  of  life.  When  he  was 
twenty-three  years  old,  in  fulfillment,  some  say,  of  a  vow 
made  during  a  dreadful  thunderstorm,  when  he  thought 
his  life  was  near  an  end,  he  gave  up  his  law  studies  and 
entered  a  monastery  at  Erfurt.  Here  he  obeyed  most 
faithfully  the  rules  of  the  monastery,  fasting  and  pray- 
ing much,  and  sometimes  shutting  himself  up  in  his  cell 
for  days  ;  once  he  was  found  senseless  on  the  floor  of 
his  cell,  so  greatly  had  he  been  stirred  up  by  his  reli- 
gious thoughts  and  practices.     But  all  of  these  things 


GROWTH   OF   FREE   RELIGIOUS   DISCUSSION    357 

did  not  bring  him  peace  of  mind.  When  he  was  twenty- 
five  years  old  he  was  called  as  a  preacher  and  teacher  of 
the  Bible  to  Wittenberg,  a  new  university  in  northern 
Germany.  He  was  still  greatly  troubled  by  religious 
thoughts,  and  very  rigidly  practiced  fasts,  penances  and 
ceremonies  of  the  Church,  but  withput  getting  quiet  of 
mind.  Finally,  while  explaining  the  Epistle  of  St.  Paul 
to  the  students  of  the  university,  new  light  came  to  him 
in  a  passage  which  gave  him  great  peace.  It  was  this  : 
"The  just  shall  live  by  faith."  It  meant  to  him  that 
forgiveness  of  sins  was  not  to  be  obtained  by  cere- 
monies, penances  and  fasts,  but  would  be  given  freely 
by  Christ  to  all  who  had  faith  in  Him,  and  lived  daily 
as  Christ  lived.  He  thought  if  one  were  truly  sorry  for 
sin,  he  would  be  pardoned  then  and  there  by  God  ;  and 
that,  therefore,  outward  fasts,  penances  and  confessions 
were  not  so  important  as  some  officers  of  the  Church 
were  claiming.  Full  of  this  new  thought,  and  with  his 
heart  full  of  new  hope  for  the  Church;  Luther  set  out 
for  Rome  in  15 10,  when  he  was  twenty-seven  years  old, 
on  an  errand  for  his  monastery.  While  there  he  found, 
just  as  Erasmus  had,  many  religious  practices  which 
gave  his  high  ideals  a  great  shock.  The  rites  and  cere- 
monies which  were  being  performed  in  the  churches 
by  worldly  men,  and  the  pleasure,  idleness  and  ease  of 
many  in  the  Church,  made  Luther's  hot  nature  burn 
with  anger;  and  he  left  Rome  to  return  home,  feeling 
that  he  must  and  would  go  to  the  Church  and  peasants 
in  the  Fatherland  and  preach  to  thern  a  higher  and 
finer  life. 

Now  it  would  be  very  far  from  the  truth  if  you  should 
think  that  all  officers  and  members  of  the  Church  were, 


358  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

at  this  time,  lovers  of  wealth  and  pleasure,  and  cared 
nothing  for  the  simple  religion  of  love  for  one  another 
and  love  to  God,  which  was  taught  by  Christ  and  His 
Apostles.  There  had  been  in  every  age  of  the  Church 
before  this  time  many  noble  popes,  thousands  of  capa- 
ble bishops,  and  legions  of  saintly  monks  and  nuns. 
Thus  from  about  400  to  1100  a.d.  the.  rude  Teutonic 
children  were  taught  the  lessons  of  kindness,  gentleness 
and  brotherhood  by  monk  and  nun ;  great  popes,  such 
for  example  as  Gregory  VII  (101 5-1085),  loved  right 
and  hated  wrong  so  intensely,  and  gave  their  great 
powers  so  completely  to  reforming  the  abuses  of  their 
times,  and  to  keeping  high-minded  men  as  leaders  and 
preachers  in  the  Church,  that  not  only  their  own  time, 
but  all  aftertime,  has  felt  the  benefit  of  their  noble  in- 
fluence. St.  Francis  of  Assisi  ( 1 1 82-1 226)  was  so  gentle 
in  life  and  word,  and  so  pure  in  soul,  that  when  the 
Church  became  careless  in  his  day,  millions  forsook  their 
wayward  leaders  and  leaped  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of 
this  beautif ul-souled  Saint.  But  by  the  time  of  the  six- 
teenth century  the  membership  of  the  Church  had  grown 
to  be  less  pure  than  at  some  other  times ;  and  even  such 
great  scholars  as  More,  Colet  and  Erasmus  criticised 
both  kings  and  popes,  when  they  saw  how  the  common 
people  were  oppressed  and  deceived. 

After  Luther  returned  home  he  continued  for  several 
years  in  his  duties  in  the  university,  teaching,  and  work- 
ing for  the  reform  of  the  Church  by  preaching  in  the 
towns  around  Wittenberg,  but  never  dreaming  of  leav- 
ing it.  Finally,  in  15 17,  Tetzel,  a  Dominican  monk  and 
seller  of  indulgences,  appeared  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Wittenberg.     The  Pope,  Leo  X,  was  very  desirous  of 


GROWTH   OF  FREE   RELIGIOUS   DISCUSSION    359 

obtaining  money  to  complete  St.  Peter's,  a  very  large 
and  beautiful  church  in  Rome ;  and  in  order  to  get  this 
money  "  he  offered  to  grant  indulgences,  or  pardons,  at 
a  certain  price  to  those  who  would  contribute  money  to 
the  building  of  St.  Peter's."  Thus  there  came  to  be  at 
this  time  agents  who  were  traveling  from  place  to  place 
selling  pardon-certificates,  or  "indulgences." 

Many  of  the  most  intelligent  people  in  the  Church 
opposed  what  Tetzel  was  doing,  but  others,  especially 
the  more  ignorant,  and  those  greatly  desiring  money, 
said  pardon  for  sins  might  be  obtained  in  this  way. 
When  Tetzel  appeared  near  Wittenberg,  Luther  was 
greatly  stirred. 

As  we  have  seen,  Luther  was  one  of  the  common 
people ;  and  as  he  loved  and  sympathized  with  them,  he 
did  not  like  to  see  them  imposed  upon.  Besides,  he 
knew  that  the  sale  of  indulgences,  as  then  carried  on, 
instead  of  making  true  Christians,  encouraged  false  and 
formal  worship.  For  this  reason  he  determined  to  put  a 
stop  "to  selling  pardons  for  sin,"  as  he  called  it.  If 
Luther  had  lived  in  our  time,  he  might  have  written  an 
article  on  the  evils  of  selling  pardons  and  had  it  printed 
in  the  newspapers.  But  there  were  no  newspapers  at 
that  time;  so  he  wrote  ninety-five  statements  against 
the  sale  of  indulgences,  and  on  the.  day  before  the 
festival  of  All  Saints,  when  the  relics  of  the  Church 
were  shown  and  all  the  country  people  flocked  into 
town,  he  nailed  them  to  the  door  of  "  All  Saints  Chapel " 
in  Wittenberg,  where  everybody  could  read  them.  Not- 
withstanding the  lack  of  newspapers,  all  Europe,  and 
especially  the  people  of  northern  Germany,  soon  heard 
of  this  and  became  much  excited  over  it ;  for,  to  speak 


360  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

so  boldly  about  what  was  being  done  by  the  head  of 
the  Church  was  not  common.  Soon  Luther  was  chal- 
lenged to  a  discussion  with  Eck,  an  old  fellow-student, 
and  one  who  supported  Tetzel  and  others  in  selling  the 
"pardon  certificates."  This  was  held  at  Leipsic,  about 
twenty-five  miles  south  of  Wittenberg. 

The  discussion  was  held  in  the  open  air,  on  a  plat- 
form, in  order  to  accommodate  the  crowd.  Luther  was 
very  fearless  in  his  discussion.  He  said  that  he  thought 
God  was  the  author  of  good,  and  not  the  Church ;  that 
the  Pope  had  no  power  to  forgive  sins,  that  God  only 
could  do  so ;  and  that  the  sale  of  indulgences  was 
corrupting  the  Church  and  the  people  and  should  be 
stopped. 

If  these  had  been  simply  Luther's  views  and  nobody 
had  paid  any  attention  to  them,  the  Pope  would  have 
cared  very  little  for  them ;  but  as  discussions  went  on, 
and  pamphlets  were  published  by  the  printing  press 
and  eagerly  read,  many  people  came  to  think  as  Luther 
did.  Soon  Leo  X  became  alarmed  at  the  spread  of  the 
new  thought,  and  in  1520  sent  a  written  statement  to 
Frederick  of  Saxony  (the  ruler  of  the  country  in  which 
Luther  lived),  saying  that  Luther  was  preaching  false 
religious  doctrines,  that  he  was  therefore  a  heretic.  The 
Pope  then  wrote  a  statement  ordering  Frederick  to  give 
Luther  up,  so  that  he  might  be  taken  to  Rome  and 
tried  for  heresy.     This  was  called  a  Papal  Bull. 

What  will  Frederick  do  with  Luther,  and  what  will 
Luther  do  with  the  Bull  ? 

Frederick  had  the  interests  of  his  people  much  at 
heart ;  and  as  he  believed  that  Luther  was  largely  right 
on  the  main  points,  he  would  not  give  him  up. 


GROWTH   OF   FREE   RELIGIOUS   DISCUSSION    361 

As  to  the  Bull,  when  it  arrived  in  Wittenberg,  in 
December,  1520,  Luther  was  teaching  in  the  university 
there.  He  formed  a  solemn  procession  of  his  fellow- 
professors  and  the  students  of  the  university,  marched 
through  the  principal  street  of  the  city,  through  the 
gate  leading  out  of  the  walls  to  a  market  place,  and 
there  amid  cheers  burned  the  Bull  and  some  Roman 
law-books.  He  burnt  the  Bull  to  declare  his  individual 
right  to  whatever  religion  he  thought  best.  He  burnt 
the  Roman  law-books  to  declare  that  Germany  was  from 
that  time  to  be  ruled  by  the  law  of  the  land  and  not  by 
the  law  of  Rome.  Luther  said  that  if  there  had  been  a 
mountain  at  Wittenberg  he  would  have  lit  his  bonfire 
at  the  top,  and  let  the  whole  world  see  the  Pope's  Bull 
ablaze  in  its  flames. 

Luther,  in  his  earnestness  and  hot  temper,  said  harsh 
things,  and  especially  attacked  persons  in  the  Church  in 
language  which  was  not  always  respectful  and  just,  and 
which  his  best  friends  regretted ;  but  such  defiance  and 
boldness  as  he  showed  could  not  help  but  attract  the 
thought  of  all  Europe  to  what  he  said  and  did,  and 
especially  did  his  name  and  fame  increase  rapidly  in 
Germany. 

While  this  was  going  on,  those  who  opposed  Luther 
were  busy  thinking  what  should  be  the  next  step  taken  to 
crush  his  ideas.  Germany  at  this  time  was  loosely  ruled 
over  by  an  Emperor,  and  a  body  of  men  somewhat  similar 
to  our  United  States  Congress,  called  a  Diet.  This  Diet, 
about  two  hundred  in  number,  was  composed  of  repre- 
sentatives of  the  nobles,  the  highest  German  officials  of 
the  Church,  and  of  representatives  of  the  greatest  German 
cities.     The  Diet  met  annually  at  different  cities  to  hold 


362  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

their  meetings  and  the  emperor  presided.  Charles  V, 
a  very  powerful  ruler,  was  at  this  time  emperor,  and  he 
decided  to  call  Luther  before  the  Diet  of  Worms  (so-called 
because  it  met  at  Worms,  in  southern  Germany)  and  have 
him  admit  that  what  he  had  said  was  heresy  and  wrong. 

This  meeting  was  called  in  1521,  and  the  emperor 
of  Germany  sent  orders  to  Luther  to  appear  before  it 
and  answer  for  his  writings.  The  journey  from  Luther's 
home  at  Wittenberg  to  Worms  was  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  miles.  In  the  dress  of  a  monk,  and  amid  the 
tears  of  his  friends,  many  of  whom  did  not  expect  him 
to  return  alive,  he  with  three  companions  and  a  herald, 
who  rode  ahead  with  a  trumpet,  started  in  a  covered 
farm-wagon  on  a  fourteen  days'  journey  to  Worms. 
Throughout  the  trip  throngs  of  people  followed  him, 
and  although  he  was  ill  during  a  part  of  the  time, 
he  is  said  to  have  preached  with  such  eloquence  as 
moved  many  of  his  hearers  to  tears.  Those  who  flocked 
to  the  towns  to  hear  him  were  the  peasant  people  of 
Germany,  who  in  their  downtrodden  condition  felt  the 
warm  heart  of  their  great  leader  as  the  "  plain  people  " 
in  our  own  country  forty  years  ago  felt  the  leadership 
and  sympathy  of  our  great  common  man  —  Lincoln. 

On  arriving  in  Worms,  Luther  was  summoned  before 
the  Diet.  There  were  about  two  hundred  members  of 
the  Diet  present,  and  in  addition,  five  thousand  spec- 
tators who  had  gathered  in  and  around  the  hall.  The 
emperor  himself  presided.  Luther's  books  were  piled 
up  on  a  table  before  him,  and  he  was  asked  to  admit 
that  they  were  heretical,  and  to  retract  what  was  said 
in  them.  Luther's  enemies  expected  him  to  reply  in  a 
rage,  but  his  conduct  was  modest.    He  frankly  admitted 


GROWTH   OF   FREE  RELIGIOUS   DISCUSSION    363 

that  he  wrote  the  books,  and  asked  the  Diet  to  give 
him  until  the  next  day  to  say  whether  he  would  retract 
what  was  in  them.  That  night  he  wrote  to  a  friend, 
"With  Christ's  help  I  will  never  retract  one  tittle." 
At  four  o'clock  the  next  day  the  officers  came  to  bring 
him  before  the  Diet  again.  The  streets  were  full  of 
people,  and  spectators  climbed  to  the  tops  of  the  houses 
to  see  him  as  he  was  led  through  passages  and  private 
ways  to  escape  the  crowd.  As  he  walked  up  the 
crowded  hall  some  said  an  encouraging  word  or  shook 
his  hand,  and  a  sympathizing  prince  said  to  him,  "  Little 
monk,  you  have  a  great  work  before  you !  "  Then  he 
took  his  place  at  the  table,  where  his  books  were  piled. 
Around  him  were  princes,  nobles  and  kings.  The  great 
representatives  of  the  Church  were  there.  The  em- 
peror of  Germany,  Charles  V,  the  most  powerful  ruler 
then  in  Europe,  was  there  to  preside.  It  was  as  if  all 
royal  and  ecclesiastical  Europe  were  there,  looking 
scornfully  upon  this  peasant  preacher  who  dared  to 
say  that  religion  should  be  chiefly  a  matter  between 
the  individual  and  God  rather  than  outward  forms  and 
symbols  of  worship,  and  that  one's  conscience  should 
be  free  in  choosing  whatever  religion  he  thought 
best. 

Then  Luther  stood  up  and  heard  the  one  question 
which  Europe  had  gathered  there  to  ask,  "Martin 
Luther,  do  you  retract  those  books  or  not?"  Then 
came  the  answer  :  "  Before  I  can  retract  I  must  be  con- 
vinced either  by  the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures  or  clear 
arguments  that  I  am  wrong.  ...  I  am  bound  by  the 
Scriptures  which  I  have  quoted ;  my  conscience  is  sub- 
missive to  the  word  of  God ;  therefore  I  may  not,  and 


364  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

will  not  recant,  because  to  act  against  conscience  is  unholy 
and  unsafe.     So  help  me  God!     Amen." 

Several  other  efforts  were  made  in  the  next  day  or  so 
to  have  him  retract,  but  all  in  vain.  He  stood  bravely 
and  fought  the  battle  for  that  free  thought  which  so 
many  of  his  nation  were  hungering  for.  And  he  fought 
it  not  only  for  his  own  people,  but  for  all  Christendom, 
of  whatever  creed,  for  the  discussion  which  he  brought 
about  on  such  great  questions  as  the  nature  of  sin,  re- 
pentance, forgiveness,  faith,  prayer,  and  what  is  required 
to  live  truly  as  Christ  lived  while  on  earth,  has  influenced 
the  thought  of  the  last  four  hundred  years  perhaps 
more  than  any  other  one  thing  occurring  in  that  time. 

The  emperor  now  ordered  him  to  leave  Worms  and 
return  home.  The  hero  now  of  the  German  people,  he 
set  out  again  for  home,  but  his  friends,  fearing  that  he 
might  be  seized  by  his  enemies  and  put  to  death,  se- 
cretly carried  him  off  to  the  castle  of  the  Wartburg  in 
Thuringia,  where  he  remained  in  the  disguise  of  a  gen- 
tleman for  a  time,  letting  his  beard  grow,  wearing  a 
sword  at  his  side,  dressing  like  a  knight,  and  being 
known  to  all  except  intimate  friends  as  Junker  George. 
But  all  this  time  he  was  watching  the  growth  of  thought 
among  his  countrymen  and  preparing  the  greatest  gift 
he  ever  gave  to  the  German  people.  This  was  the  Bible, 
which  he  translated  with  great  care  from  the  Latin  into 
such  pure  German  that  the  Germans  still  to-day,  three 
centuries  and  a  half  after  Luther,  speak  and  write  it 
just  as  Luther  wrote  it  in  his  Bible  and  hymns. 

After  this,  and  by  means  of  the  printing  press,  all  the 
people  of  his  country  could  have  a  Bible  in  their  own 
language.       Luther's   translation    was   intended   to   be 


GROWTH   OF   FREE   RELIGIOUS   DISCUSSION     365 

simple  and  to  reproduce  the  tone  and  spirit  of  the  orig- 
inal texts.  He  said  he  wished  "  the  Bible  to  be  under- 
stood by  the  mother  in  the  house,  by  the  children  in  the 
streets  and  by  the  common  man  in  the  market."  It  was 
completed  in  1522,  and  became  at  once  the  household 
book  throughout  northern  Germany. 

Now  came  another  effort  to  destroy  the  influence  of 
Luther ;  after  Luther  would  not  retract  at  Worms  what 
he  had  written,  the  Pope  asked  Charles  V  (who,  you  re- 
member, was  king  of  Spain  and  emperor  of  Germany) 
to  order  all  Luther's  books  burnt.  So  Charles  sent 
a  letter,  or  Edict,  as  it  was  called,  to  all  parts  of  his 
empire,  ordering  this  done.  In  some  places  they  were, 
but  the  people  burnt  Charles's  Edict  in  more  places 
than  they  did  Luther's  books.  And  so  the  Reformation 
of  the  Church  rapidly  grew  in  Germany. 

We  will  not  follow  Luther  year  by  year  through  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  He  continued  writing  books  as 
long  as  he  lived,  writing  in  all  more  than  a  hundred.  He 
labored  most  diligently  to  increase  learning  and  spread 
it  out  among  the  people.  He  constantly  and  eloquently 
advocated  free  thought  and  free  speech,  but  he  did  not 
always  practice  his  principles  toward  others  as  fully  as 
he  advocated  them.  He  was  sometimes  ruled  by  super- 
stition, and  thought  that  persons  could,  at  times,  see 
devils  and  be  possessed  by  them.  Toward  those  who 
differed  from  him  in  opinion  he  often  used  harsh, 
violent,  coarse  and  even  shocking  language.  But  with 
all  his  many  faults,  it  can  truthfully  be  said  that  as 
he  gained  greater  knowledge  he  became  more  just 
and  gentle  toward  his  fellow-men.  As  his  horizon  of 
thought  widened  he  more  frankly  and  frequently  con- 


366  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

fessed  his  errors ;  and  when  he  was  taunted  with  being 
inconsistent  (and  in  fact  he  frequently  was  so)  he  said  : 
"  I  thought  so  once ;  I  was  wrong.  I  think  so  no  more. 
I  appeal  from  Luther  in  ignorance  to  Luther  well  in- 
formed," —  and  this  is  not  a  bad  habit  to  follow  for  one 
who  is  earnestly  seeking  the  truth. 

Luther  believed  that  monks  should  marry;  that  by  hav- 
ing homes  and  families  of  their  own  they  would  be  better 
men.  He  therefore  married  and  reared  a  family,  being 
kind,  amiable  and  cheerful  in  his  own  family  circle,  and, 
amid  the  most  heated  discussions  and  conflicts,  which 
often  called  him  from  home,  wrote  the  most  tender  let- 
ters to  "Kate,"  as  he  called  his  wife,  and  to  "little 
Johnny,"  as  he  affectionately  called  their  son. 

He  died  in  1546,  in  his  sixty-third  year.  By  advo- 
cating and  practicing  to  a  degree  the  principle  that  one 
should  have  the  right  of  free  worship,  and  by  starting 
all  Christendom  to  practicing  this  principle,  so  that  it 
now  follows  it  much  more  wisely  than  it  did  then, 
Luther  became  the  greatest  man  of  his  nation,  the 
greatest  of  his  time,  and  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  any 
nation  and  of  any  time. 

During  the  quarter  of  a  century  between  the  Diet  of 
Worms  and  Luther's  death  there  was  very  earnest  dis- 
cussion of  religion  in  Germany.  As  I  have  already  told 
you,  Germany  was  divided  into  many  little  feudal  states, 
at  the  head  of  each  being  a  prince.  Some  of  these 
princes  sided  with  Luther  and  others  with  the  Pope,  so 
Germany  finally  came  to  be  divided  into  two  great  op- 
posing camps  on  the  subject  of  religion.  Those  who 
sided  with  Luther  went  on  rapidly  in  the  work  of  re- 
form.    Monasteries  were   reformed  or  torn  down  and 


GROWTH   OF   FREE   RELIGIOUS   DISCUSSION    367 

the  money  used  for  education,  for  supporting  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel,  or  for  the  poor.  Monks 
and  nuns  were  allowed  to  marry ;  religious  services 
were  generally  carried  on  in  German  rather  than  Latin. 
The  children  were  taught  in  the  common  schools,  and 
Luther's  German  Bible  and  German  hymns  came  into 
general  use.  It  thus  came  about  that  centers  of  new 
thought  in  education,  in  government  and  religion  sprang 
up  in  almost  the  whole  of  northern  Germany  —  that 
part  which  was  most  Teutonic  and  had  been  least  influ- 
enced by  Rome  —  and  laid  the  foundation  for  the 
sturdy,  independent  people  who  have  made  Germany 
in  our  day  one  of  the  greatest  nations  in  the  world. 

During  the  sixteenth  century  other  European  coun- 
tries were  also  stirred  with  these  same  questions  of 
reform.  In  Spain  reformers  arose  who  translated  the 
Bible  into  Spanish  for  the  common  people,  and  strove 
for  free  religious  thought. 

But  so  much  were  the  Spanish  king  and  the  leading 
authorities  in  the  Church  opposed  to  all  this,  that  they 
appointed  a  body  of  men  to  inquire  carefully  into  every 
person's  religious  opinions ;  and  if  they  were  not  such 
as  the  Church  wished  them  to  have  and  they  would  not 
retract,  they  were  either  tortured  or  burnt.  Inquiring 
into  the  religious  opinions  of  people,  and  punishing  those 
who  did  not  believe  and  practice  what  the  Church  wished, 
was  what  is  called  the  Inquisition.  The  story  of  the  treat- 
ment of  reformers  in  Spain  is  more  cruel  than  that  in 
any  other  country.  And  so  perfectly  did  the  Inquisition 
do  its  work  in  that  country  that  it  plucked  up  all  roots  of 
the  new  thought  which  were  springing  up  there.  And 
just  as  Germany  has  grown  wealthier  and  stronger  by 


368  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

continually  taking  up  new  thought  during  the  past  four 
hundred  years,  Spain  has  grown  weaker  and  poorer  by 
crushing  all  new  thought  out  of  her  country. 

In  France,  at  this  time,  as  in  Spain,  there  was  one 
powerful  ruler  at  the  head  of  the  government,  who  ruled 
his  people  practically  without  consulting  them  at  all. 
This  ruler,  in  the  time  of  Luther,  was  much  opposed  to 
the  thought  of  the  reformers,  or  Protestants,  as  they 
were  now  generally  called.  But  notwithstanding  this,  a 
reformer  who  has  had  almost  as  great  an  influence  on 
the  world  as  Luther  was  born  in  France  at  this  time 
and  educated  in  her  great  universities  of  Paris  and 
Orleans.  This  was  John  Calvin.  He  was  twenty-five 
years  younger  than  Luther.  He  was  born  in  1 509.  By 
the  time  he  became  of  age,  he  was  considered  a  heretic 
by  the  Church,  and  as  heretics  were  burnt  in  France  at 
that  time  he  left  home  to  travel  in  Germany  and  Italy. 
While  he  was  still  a  young  man  he  settled  in  Geneva, 
Switzerland,  and  became  a  powerful  advocate  of  the  new 
doctrines  there.  He  thought  that  every  congregation 
should  have  the  right  to  choose  its  own  preacher,  just 
as  the  Baptists,  Presbyterians,  Congregationalists,  for 
example,  do  nowadays.  He  thought  that  the  preacher 
and  congregation  had  the  right  to  make  people  go  to 
church,  go  to  school,  give  up  swearing,  dancing,  playing 
at  dice,  etc.  He  ruled  after  this  manner  in  Geneva  the 
greater  part  of  his  life,  strongly  advocating  religious 
freedom,  and,  like  Luther,  writing  many  books  upon  it ; 
but  also,  like  Luther,  sometimes  failing  to  practice  it 
(for  he  had  one  man,  Servetus,  burned  with  his  books 
hung  to  his  girdle,  for  an  honest  difference  of  opinion 
from  him  on  religious  matters). 


GROWTH   OF  FREE   RELIGIOUS   DISCUSSION     369 

But  notwithstanding  his  faults,  he  was  a  man  of 
great  ability,  and  his  better  ideas  were  caught  up  in 
France  by  reformers  who  called  themselves  Huguenots, 
and  at  first  they  grew  very  rapidly.  During  the  six- 
teenth and  the  first  of  the  seventeenth  centuries  the 
Huguenots  came  to  be,  so  far  as  industry,  education 
and  moral  character  were  concerned,  the  foremost 
people  of  the  French  nation.  But  as  I  have  already 
told  you,  the  French  rulers  were  opposed  to  the  Hugue- 
nots. One  ruler  in  1572  had  twenty  thousand  —  some 
say  one  hundred  thousand  —  massacred  in  one  fatal 
night.  Finally,  in  1685,  after  much  bloody  struggle 
between  Huguenots  and  Catholics,  Louis  XIV  had  all 
the  Huguenots  banished  from  France.  France  thus 
cut  off  her  right  arm,  so  to  speak,  for  in  banishing  the 
Huguenots  she  banished  industry,  free  thought,  and 
manly  independence.  Some  of  the  Huguenots  went  to 
England ;  others  came  to  the  American  colonies,  and 
were  the  forefathers  of  men  like  John  Jay,  Henry 
Laurens  who  did  so  much  for  liberty  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  our  nation,  and  Peter  Faneuil  who  built  "the 
cradle  of  American  liberty,"  as  Faneuil  Hall,  in  Boston, 
has  been  called.  Thus,  you  see,  when  the  Huguenots 
were  not  allowed  to  enjoy  freedom  in  the  Old  World, 
they  came  to  the  New  and  struggled  all  the  more  bravely 
to  establish  liberty  in  America. 

Holland  and  Denmark,  as  you  will  see  by  the  map, 
lie  just  north  of  Germany,  and  Sweden  is  not  so  very 
far  away.  In  all  these  countries  the  lamp  of  the  new 
truth  was  lit  by  the  reformers  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
and  all  rapidly  developed  independent  Protestant 
churches  of  their  own.     Especially  did  little   Holland 


370  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

become  a  home  to  which  the  oppressed  of  all  nations 
could  flee  and  enjoy  the  fullest  degree  of  religious  lib- 
erty. You  remember  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  who  braved 
the  seas  to  plant  the  spirit  of  the  Reformation  in  New 
England,  went  from  England  to  Holland  when  they  were 
no  longer  allowed  to  worship  freely  in  their  native  land. 

Let  us  now  notice  very  briefly  how  the  new  ideas 
of  religious  reform  grew  in  England. 

England  was  in  one  way  like,  and  in  another  way 
very  different  at  this  time  from  Germany.  She  was 
like,  in  being  occupied  by  freedom-loving  Teutons,  who 
were  always  jealously  guarding  their  liberties;  she  was 
unlike  in  having  a  single  king  instead  of  petty  princes 
who  ruled  over  the  entire  country.  Now  the  King  of 
England  could  not  rule  just  as  he  pleased,  but  had  to 
ask  the  people  through  their  representatives  in  Parlia- 
ment what  they  wanted  done.  The  king  ruling  in 
England  while  Luther  was  preaching  and  working  so 
earnestly  in  Germany  was  Henry  VIII  (i  509-1 547). 

Henry  VIII  at  first  did  all  he  could  to  help  the  Pope 
destroy  Luther's  ideas,  but  something  occurred  to  make 
him  change  his  mind.  He  had  married  his  brother's 
widow,  Catherine,  the  daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
bella of  Spain.  Catherine  was  older  than  he  and  in 
poor  health,  and,  besides,  he  had  fallen  in  love  with  a 
young  and  handsome  woman  named  Anne  Boleyn. 
Henry  asked  the  Pope  to  grant  him  a  divorce  from 
Catherine,  saying  that  he  thought  it  wrong  for  one  to 
marry  his  brother's  widow,  as  the  Bible  forbids  this  in 
the  eighteenth  chapter  of  Leviticus.  But  the  Pope  very 
properly  refused  to  grant  the  divorce.  At  that  time 
one  could  not  get  a  divorce  from   courts  as   is   done 


GROWTH    OF   FREE    RELIGIOUS    DISCUSSION     371 

sometimes  now.  The  only  possible  way  was  to  get  it 
from  the  Church.     What  was  Henry  VIII  to  do  ? 

He  conceived  the  plan  of  leaving  the  Catholic  Church 
entirely,  of  setting  up  a  new  Church  in  England  where 
the  spirit  of  religious  freedom  had  already  grown  con- 
siderably, and  of  getting  Parliament  to  declare  him  the 
head  of  it.  If  this  were  done,  he  knew  he  could  secure 
the  divorce  through  Parliament  without  consulting  the 
Pope.  This  was  accomplished  in  a  few  years,  and 
Parliament  declared  Henry  VIII  "  Supreme  Head  of 
the  Church  of  England."  This  is  generally  said  to  be 
the  beginning  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  or  Church  of 
England,  and  from  this  sprang  the  Church  in  America 
known  as  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 

Henry's  reason  for  leaving  the  Catholic  Church  was 
selfish  and  ignoble,  but  from  his  leaving  it,  sprang  up 
thereafter  true  reformers,  and  great  principles  of  reli- 
gious freedom  developed,  because  of  what  he  did,  in 
both  England  and  America.  We  will  mention  some  of 
the  great  steps  by  which  this  came  about. 

One  of  the  first  steps  toward  reform  taken  by  Henry 
after  he  was  declared  head  of  the  Church  was  to  shut 
up  a  part  of  the  monasteries  in  England,  of  which  there 
were  at  that  time  over  six  hundred. 

The  monks  and  nuns  had  lived  very  simple,  sacrific- 
ing and  useful  lives  in  early  times,  when  they  were 
showing  by  example  the  heathen  of  western  Europe 
the  kindness  and  love  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles ; 
but  in  a  thousand  years  of  growth  the  monasteries 
had  become  wealthy,  and  many  monks  and  nuns  were 
living  idle,  useless  lives ;  and  instead  of  practicing  true 
religion,  they  often  did  little  more  than  keep  up  its  forms 


372  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

and  ceremonies.  By  being  idle  and  ignorant  some  also 
became  immoral.  So  Henry,  partly  through  greed 
(because  he  wanted  the  property  of  the  religious  houses 
to  use  in  war  and  for  his  own  pleasure),  shut  up  a 
part  of  them,  turned  the  monks  and  nuns  out  into  the 
world,  pensioning  some,  and  using  some  of  the  money 
obtained  from  the  monasteries  in  establishing  schools 
and  colleges.  The  schools  and  colleges  would  become 
freer  as  they  became  less  controlled  by  the  Church,  and 
people  of  all  religions  would  have  a  better  chance  for 
education  than  they  had  had  before. 

A  second  very  important  step  taken  by  Henry  was 
to  order  an  English  translation  of  the  Bible  made  and 
put  in  all  the  churches,  that  people  might  read  it. 
This  translation  was  begun  by  Tyndale  in  1525  and 
was  continued  by  English  scholars  till  it  was  com- 
pleted nearly  a  hundred  years  later  (in  161 1).  A 
copy  of  the  new  translation  was  kept  chained  to  the 
reading-desk  in  every  church,  and  the  common  people 
who  were  too  poor  to  own  one  themselves  joined  to- 
gether and  purchased  a  neighborhood  Bible.  Henry 
thought  that  by  teaching  every  one  to  read  the  Bible  and 
use  the  prayer-book,  people  would  learn  to  pray  for  the 
king  and  others  in  authority  instead  of  the  Pope.  They 
did  learn  to  do  so,  but  they  also  learned  to  think  freely 
on  religious  subjects,  and  this  habit  finally  led  them 
to  set  up  religions  without  asking  leave  of  either  king 
or  Pope. 

A  third  very  great  step  which  helped  on  the  Refor- 
mation in  England  was  the  effort  made  by  Elizabeth, 
Henry  VIII's  daughter  (who  ruled  during  the  last  half 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  1 558-1603),  to  have  everybody 


GROWTH   OF   FREE   RELIGIOUS   DISCUSSION    373 

in  England  worship  alike.  She  got  Parliament  to  say- 
that  Catholic  and  Protestant  should  meet  together  and 
use  the  same  prayer-book,  recite  the  same  creed,  and 
use  nothing  but  the  English  language  in  the  Church 
service.  There  were  now  getting  to  be  many  in  the 
Church  who,  more  in  earnest  and  much  more  sincerely 
than  Henry,  objected  to  some  of  the  Church  doctrines 
and  ceremonies.  For  example,  many  did  not  like  to 
see  the  surplice  worn  in  the  pulpit,  as  it  reminded  them 
of  the  preachers  before  the  Reformation  and  practices 
and  beliefs  of  earlier  centuries.  They  did  not  like  to 
see  pictures  of  saints  in  the  church,  for  much  the  same 
reason.  These  people  wanted  to  purify  the  English 
Church  by  having  the  preacher  leave  off  the  surplice 
and  many  other  forms  and  ceremonies  then  practiced, 
and  hence  they  came  to  be  called  Puritans. 

When  the  law  was  passed  compelling  them  all  to 
attend  church  whether  they  wished  to  or  not,  many 
Protestants  went  to  Germany,  Holland  and  Switzerland, 
where  they  became  all  the  more  filled  with  ideas  of  re- 
form, and  especially  with  John  Calvin's  ideas,  which 
taught  that  people  have  a  right  to  set  up  little  congre- 
gations, and  worship  God  just  as  they  see  fit,  without  ask- 
ing permission  of  any  one.  They  became  so  filled  with 
this  idea  that  when  England  would  not  let  them  prac- 
tice it  at  home,  they  willingly  left  their  friends,  kindred 
and  country,  to  come  across  the  sea  and  plant  the  new 
idea  in  the  New  World. 

Thus  when  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  and  the  people  of 
Boston  settled  on  the  New  England  shore,  they  brought 
with  them  the  very  ripest  and  choicest  seed  of  the 
Reformation  to  plant  in  the  new  soil. 


374  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

This  germ  of  liberty  has  grown  in  our  land  till  it  has 
given  the  greatest  freedom  to  everybody  —  Catholic, 
Protestant,  Jew  and  pagan  —  to  worship  as  his  con- 
science tells  him  is  right,  so  long  as  his  worship  does 
not  interfere  with  the  rights  of  others.  And  so  precious 
is  this  to  us,  and  cost  so  much  struggle  to  obtain,  that 
when  our  fathers  came  to  write  our  national  Constitu- 
tion they  said  expressly  and  definitely  that  Congress 
shall  make  no  law  favoring  one  religion  more  than  an- 
other, or  any  law  to  prevent,  one  from  having  whatever 
religion  he  wishes. 

To  sum  up,  we  have  now  seen  in  studying  the 
Reformation  that  it  was :  — 

First,  an  effort  made  to  place  the  Bible  in  simple  and 
plain  language  before  the  people  that  they  might  thus 
be  able  to  decide  religious  questions  freely  for  them- 
selves, and  take  whatever  steps  seemed  to  them  best 
in  following  the  teachings  and  life  of  Jesus  and  His 
Disciples. 

Second,  that  this  led  reformers  to  translate  and  print 
thousands  of  books  and  tracts  so  that  common  people 
could  read  them.  And  these  gave  the  people  excellent 
models  of  speech  in  their  own  tongues  —  English, 
French,  Dutch,  and  German,  —  which  led  to  the  writing 
of  many  new  books  and  to  the  development  of  a  great 
literature  in  each  of  these  countries. 

Third,  it  led  the  great  religious  teachers  to  establish 
schools  for  teaching  their  religious  ideas, — schools 
were  established  by  Calvin  in  Geneva  ;  by  Savonarola  in 
Florence ;  by  Edward  VI  in  England  ;  by  John  Knox 
in  Scotland ;  by  Ignatius  Loyola  over  almost  the  whole 
world,  and  by  the  Puritans  who  settled  in  Massachu- 


GROWTH   OF   FREE   RELIGIOUS   DISCUSSION    375 

setts.  These  schools  rapidly  grew  in  numbers  and  in 
free  thought,  and  soon  came  to  teach  the  new  ideas 
of  science  which  were  now  springing  up  in  the  minds 
of  great  men  like  Copernicus  and  Galileo,  as  well  as 
the  new  and  freer  ideas  of  religion  and  government. 

Fourth,  it  led  to  the  destruction  of  many  of  the  mon- 
asteries which  had  lost  their  higher  life,  and  made  people 
believe  that  married  life  is  as  sacred  and  exalted  for 
religious  leaders  as  the  unmarried ;  and  that  for  modern 
times  the  public  school,  open  to  every  shade  of  thought, 
offers  a  better  opportunity  for  training  the  mind  to 
broad  and  liberal  views  than  schools  overshadowed  by 
the  Church. 

Fifth,  we  have  seen  that  the  Romance  countries  — 
Spain  and  France  —  crushed  out  the  plants  of  free 
religious  thought,  and  have  been  ever  since  weaker 
therefrom ;  while  the  Teutonic  countries  —  England, 
Germany,  Holland,  Norway  and  Sweden,  cultivated  the 
seeds  till  they  took  firm  root  in  the  Old  World  and 
spread  to  the  New. 

Sixth,  we  have  seen  that  the  growth  of  free  ideas 
was  so  strong  in  England  that,  when  it  was  checked 
there  for  a  time  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  those  who  would  not  suffer  the  lamp  of  liberty 
to  be  quenched  left  home  and  friends,  crossed  stormy 
seas,  and  planted  the  hard-won  principles  in  free  schools, 
free  religions,  free  labor  (in  the  North)  and  free  govern- 
ment up  and  down  the  Atlantic  seacoast  from  Maine  to 
Georgia  during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  cen- 
turies. And  it  is  this  idea  of  individual  liberty  and  self- 
reliance  which  has  cleared  the  forest  and  built  the 
Republic  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  during  the 


376  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

nineteenth  century,  and  now  rules  and  molds  the  life  of 
the  New  World. 

But  the  chief  result  to  us  in  studying  the  Reformation 
should  be  to  lead  us  away  from  narrow  and  intolerant 
religious  views.  We  should  not  think  that  the  Catholic 
was  all  wrong  in  his  opinions  and  the  Protestant  all 
right,  nor  the  Protestant  all  wrong  and  the  Catholic  all 
right.  It  would  be  a  better  view  to  see  that  no  human 
mind  and  no  Church  can  at  any  time  possess  the  whole 
of  truth ;  for  truth,  as  grasped  by  man,  is  continually 
growing.  All  churches  in  order  to  grow,  therefore, 
must  be  continually  gaining  higher  and  truer  views. 
But  truth  grows  most  rapidly  by  every  one  having  a 
chance  to  tell  freely  the  way  he  sees  it ;  it  was,  there- 
fore, a  great  gain  that  the  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth 
century  brought  about  a  freer  discussion  of  religious 
matters  than  had  ever  existed  before,  and  this  freer 
discussion  in  turn  has  brought  about,  in  the  four  hundred 
years  since  the  Reformation,  vastly  better  means  of 
discussion  and  education,  such  as  the  printing  press, 
books,  magazines,  newspapers  and  pictures.  Thus  we 
may  see  that,  although  at  first  every  religion,  because  of 
the  intense  earnestness,  and  ability  of  its  followers  to 
see  but  one  side  of  the  question,  was  intolerant  of  every 
other,  the  distant  fruit  of  the  Reformation  has  been 
that  it  has  broadened  the  views  of  all  branches  of  the 
Christian  Church,  made  all  more  earnest  seekers  after 
the  Truth,  made  every  one  more  willing  to  consider 
and  tolerate  views  —  religious,  political  or  social  — 
which  may  differ  from  his  own,  and  helped  all  mankind, 
of  whatever  sect  or  creed,  to  see  that  every  age  and 
every  branch  of  the  Universal  Church  has  had,  and  in 


GROWTH   OF  FREE  RELIGIOUS   DISCUSSION     377 

order  to  grow  must  continue  to  have,  its  mighty  teachers 
and  reformers  standing  like  guide-posts,  pointing  man- 
kind to  a  higher,  freer  and  finer  life. 

References 

Seebohm:  Protestant  Revolution ;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 
Balmes :  European  Civilization  ;  Murphy  &  Co.,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Myers  :  Mediaeval  and  Modern  History ;  Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 
Kbstlin  :  Life  of  Luther;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 
Thatcher  and  Schwill :    Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages ;    Scribner's 

Sons,  N.Y. 
Larned:  History  of  England  ;  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Kemp  :  Outlines  of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools  ;  Ginn 

&  Co.,  Boston. 
See    articles   in   good   cyclopedias    on    Renascence,    Reformation, 

Inquisition :  and  on  the  biographies  suggested  for  study. 
Study  the  biographies  of  Gregory   VII,   Saint  Francis   of  Assisi, 

Leo  X,  Luther,  William  Tindal,  Elizabeth,  Copernicus,  Galileo, 

Loyola,  Calvin,  John  Knox,  Oliver  Cromwell,  John  Robinson. 


SEVENTH-GRADE   WORK 

The  aim  of  the  seventh-grade  history  work  is  to  show  two  streams 
of  thought  struggling  for  America  —  the  first  Romanic,  represented 
by  Spanish  and  French  colonial  life ;  the  second  Teutonic,  repre- 
sented by  English  colonial  life.  The  final  aim  is  to  see  the  growth 
of  the  Teutonic  stream  till  it  prevails  over  the  Romanic,  and,  in  the 
last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century,  expresses  itself  in  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  the  American  Revolution,  and,  greatest  of  all, 
the  United  States  Constitution. 


378 


THE  IDEAS  WHICH  SPAIN  DEVELOPED 
AT  HOME  AND  THEN  PLANTED  IN 
AMERICA 

When  Columbus  discovered  America,  in  1492,  there 
were  three  strong  nations  on  the  western  coast  of 
Europe  —  Spain,  France  and  England.  As  soon  as 
America  was  discovered,  these  three  nations  reached 
out  their  hands  across  the  vast  spaces  of  the  Western 
ocean  to  lay  hold  of  the  New  World.  Throughout  all 
of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  eighteenth  centuries  these  powers  struggled  for 
mastery  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  New  World 
beyond.  Before  three  centuries  were  gone  it  was  clear 
that  the  English  people  and  Teutonic  ideas  were  to  rule 
the  western  land.  The  reason  why  Spain  and  France 
failed  in  the  struggle,  and  England  so  completely  suc- 
ceeded, was  because  the  first  two  nations  sought  to  plant 
mediaeval  ideas  in  America,  while  the  English  colonists, 
led  by  ideals  of  the  future  and  not  of  the  past,  came 
to  the  new  shore  full  of  the  new  ideas  which  had  burst 
forth  in  Europe  in  the  Renascence,  the  English  Par- 
liament, the  printing  press,  the  public  school  and  the 
Reformation.  To  study  this  struggle  for  the  New 
World  and  see  how  it  terminated  is  the  work  of  the 
seventh  grade. 

We  will  first  look  at  Spain  and  the  life  developed 
there,  for  the  ideas  Spain  had  at  home  were  the  ideas 
she  brought  to  the  New  World. 

379 


380  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

Spain  is  a  peninsula  in  the  southwestern  part  of 
Europe,  which,  although  lying  directly  east  from  the 
central  part  of  the  United  States,  has  a  much  milder 
climate.  In  it  grow  such  products  as  grapes,  oranges, 
figs,  dates,  almonds  and  olives.  Outside  of  a  narrow 
coast-plain  surrounding  the  greater  part  of  the  penin- 
sula, its  surface  is  a  high  plateau,  broken  by  mountains. 
It  was  hard  to  subdue  the  mountaineers  living  in  these 
fastnesses,  and  brave  people  have  lived  there  for  thou- 
sands of  years. 

Spain  was  conquered  about  two  thousand  years  ago 
(133  B.C.)  by  the  Romans,  who  settled  it  and  ruled  it 
very  firmly  for  many  years,  working  the  rich  mines  of 
gold  and  silver  which  they  found  there  and  carrying 
the  riches  back  to  Rome.  When  Rome  began  to  lose 
her  power,  the  Germans  overran  the  peninsula,  and 
settled  it  about  415  years  after  Christ.  They  learned 
much  from  the  Roman  people  they  found  there,  and 
adopted  many  of  Rome's  ways,  especially  her  way  of 
having  one  man  rule  arbitrarily, — that  is,  without  con- 
sulting the  people's  wishes,  or  having  them  vote  upon 
questions,  as  we  do  in  America. 

About  three  hundred  years  after  the  Germans  con- 
quered Spain,  that  is,  about  the  beginning  of  the  eighth 
century,  the  Arab  Moors,  who  were  Mohammedans  in 
religion,  conquered  all  of  Spain  except  the  mountains  in 
the  extreme  north.  The  Moors  grew  to  be  very  indus- 
trious and  well  educated,  and  for  a  time  had  the  best 
universities  in  the  world.  Many  people  from  other 
European  countries  came  to  attend  their  schools.  But 
the  brave  Christian  people,  in  the  little  mountain  states 
of  northern  Spain  kept  fighting  back  the  Mohammedan 


SPANISH   IDEAS   IN  AMERICA  38 1 

Moors,  driving  them  slowly  farther  and  farther  south, 
till  all  of  the  northern  half  of  Spain  was  regained  by 
the  Christians.  Here  several  brave  little  Christian 
states  grew  up,  from  about  900  to  1500  a.d.  These 
states  not  only  fought  continually  against  the  Moors,  but 
quarreled  much  among  themselves,  just  as  all  the  feudal 
states  did  during  the  Middle  Ages.  Two  of  the  largest 
states  were  Aragon  and  Castile.  In  1469  Ferdinand, 
Prince  of  Aragon,  married  Isabella,  Princess  of  Castile, 
thus  joining  these  two  states  under  one  power.  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella  soon  ruled  all  Spain  except  a  little 
mountainous  fringe  in  the  extreme  south,  called  Grenada, 
held  by  the  Moors. 

Now,  fighting  constantly  for  almost  eight  hundred 
years  made  the  Spanish  very  brave,  but  very  cruel  as 
well.  Fighting  for  their  religion  against  the  Moham- 
medan Moors  made  religion  the  uppermost  thought  in 
their  minds.  Likewise  it  helped  to  make  them  hold  to 
one  church  and  one  religion  —  the  Catholic — more  firmly 
than  did  any  other  great  nation  of  their  time. 

By  the  last  of  the  fifteenth  century  the  continual 
snarling  and  petty  warfare  between  the  little  Spanish 
states  were  largely  brought  to  an  end  by  having  the 
same  king  and  queen  rule  over  all.  And,  and  as  I 
told  you,  the  king  and  queen  themselves  decided  what 
they  would  have  done  in  religion,  government,  education 
and  the  like,  and  did  not  ask  the  people  who  had 
helped  to  fight  the  battles  much  about  what  they 
would  like  to  have  done.  This  kind  of  rule  is  what  is 
called  despotic  government,  and  Spain  grew,  like  old 
Rome,  to  be  more  and  more  despotic  the  older  she 
became.     But  now  that  the  Spanish  were  united  they 


382  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

joined  against  the  last  of  the  Moors,  and,  after  ten 
years  of  fighting,  completely  conquered  them,  in 
1492. 

We  have  seen  already,  in  the  sixth-grade  work,  that 
during  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  the  people 
from  all  parts  of  Europe  had  gone  to  the  Holy  Land  on 
crusades.  This  led  to  the  circulation  of  great  quantities 
of  products  between  European  cities  and  the  lands  of 
the  East.  It  led  no  less  to  new  ideas  and  broader 
views  coming  to  the  West,  which  filled  people  with  a 
great  desire  to  know  more  and  to  be  adventurous.  The 
art  of  printing,  invented  in  the  same  year  that  Columbus 
was  born  (1446),  spread  the  new  knowledge,  and  soon 
made  it  possible  for  one  to  possess  a  library  as  easily 
as  in  the  Middle  Ages  he  could  have  possessed  a  single 
book.  In  fact,  as  we  saw  in  our  studies  in  the  sixth 
grade,  Europe  in  the  fourteenth,  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
centuries  was  bursting  with  new  thought,  as  blossoms 
burst  with  the  coming  of  fresh  showers  and  sunshine  in 
the  springtime. 

Now  Genoa,  the  home  of  Columbus,  being  favorably 
situated  on  the  Mediterranean,  had  carried  on  extensive 
trade  with  southern  and  eastern  Asia  for  three  hundred 
years  before  Columbus's  time ;  but  when  the  Moham- 
medans captured  Constantinople,  in  1453  a.d.,  they 
stopped  the  ships  of  Genoa  from  traveling  eastward, 
and  her  trade  rapidly  declined. 

Some  of  the  best-educated  people  at  that  time  thought 
that  the  earth  was  round,  though  much  smaller  than  it  is  ; 
but  no  one  had  been  brave  enough  to  strike  boldly 
toward  the  west  into  the  unknown  sea  to  prove  whether 
it  was  really  a  sphere  or  not.     But  Columbus,  full    of 


SPANISH   IDEAS   IN  AMERICA  383 

the  free  spirit  of  the  time,  was  bold  enough  to  try  it. 
With  three  ships  furnished  by  Isabella  of  Spain,  he 
struck  fearlessly  out  over  the  vast  spaces  of  the 
Western  ocean  to  break  away  the  narrow  limits  of 
the  Middle  Ages  and  carry  on  trade  with  Asia  across 
the  Atlantic. 

The  first  land  he  discovered  was  the  island  of  San  Sal- 
vador, southeast  of  Florida,  but  he  thought  he  had  found 
Asia.  How  excited  the  Spaniards  and  all  Europe  be- 
came when  he  went  home  and  told  what  he  had  found ! 
Spain  at  once  sent  over  ships  to  get  the  spices,  silver 
and  pearls  of  what  she  thought  to  be  the  East  Indies, 
but  of  course  these  were  not  obtained.  However,  they 
still  thought  for  many  years  that  they  had  found  Asia, 
and,  in  spite  of  disappointments,  kept  coming  to  the 
new  country ;  for  although  the  war  with  the  Moors  was 
over,  the  people  were  quite  as  fond  of  adventure  as  ever. 
Moreover,  Spain  wanted  to  explore  the  country  and  get 
a  claim  to  it  before  any  other  country  could  do  so. 
Monks  and  missionaries  were  anxious  also  to  convert 
the  natives  to  their  religion.  But  besides  their  love  of 
adventure,  desire  to  extend  territory,  and  desire  to  con- 
vert the  natives,  the  Spaniards  had  a  still  stronger 
motive  for  hurrying  over  to  explore  and  settle  the  new 
country,  —  and  this  was  the  hope  of  finding  gold,  silver, 
and  precious  stones. 

They  first  explored  and  settled  the  fertile  islands  of 
the  West  Indies.  The  most  remarkable  stories  were 
carried  back  to  Spain  of  the  wonderful  fountains  of 
youth,  where  one  had  but  to  bathe  to  become  young 
again,  and  of  cities  built  of  gold.  Many  people  eagerly 
came  to  America  in  search  of  these  wonders,  and  with 


384  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

the  hope  of  quickly  growing  rich  and  returning  to  Spain. 
Ponce  de  Leon  hunted  through  the  swamps  of  Florida  for 
the  fountain  of  youth  and  for  gold ;  he  found  neither, 
but  after  many  years  of  weary  effort  he  was  killed  by 
the  poisoned  arrows  of  the  Indians. 

About  twenty-five  years  after  the  voyage  of  Colum- 
bus, 1 5 19-152 1,  another  Spaniard,  named  Cortez,  came 
to  Mexico.  He  beat  his  way  through  the  jungles  of  the 
tropical  lowlands,  crossed  the  mountains  of  Mexico,  and 
reached  the  fertile  plateau  between  the  mountain  ranges 
near  the  present  city  of  Mexico,  where  the  Aztec  Indians 
had  their  city.  The  Aztecs  were  at  that  time  more 
nearly  civilized  than  most  of  the  Indians  of  America; 
they  had  cities  and  an  organized  government,  and  culti- 
vated the  land.  After  a  hard  and  cruel  struggle  the 
natives  were  conquered  by  Cortez,  who  plundered  them 
of  their  gold  and  silver,  sent  many  of  them  as  slaves  to 
the  mines,  and  set  up  a  government  among  them,  which 
had  for  its  purpose  to  get  everything  possible  out  of 
the  country  for  himself  and  the  king  of  Spain.  Cortez 
was  truly  as  arbitrary  and  cruel  a  ruler  in  Mexico  as 
ever  any  king  was  in  Spain. 

Pizarro,  a  few  years  after,  went  to  the  mountainous 
country  which  is  now  called  Peru,  and  after  much  cruelty 
and  deceit  conquered  the  Indians  there.  He  gained 
even  more  wealth  than  Cortez  had  gained  —  about 
seventeen  million  dollars  in  gold,  it  is  said.  Such  rapid 
accumulation  of  treasure  as  this  set  Spain  wild.  Thou- 
sands hurried  to  America,  plunged  into  forests  and 
swamps,  crossed  rivers,  ascended  mountains,  endured 
hardships,  fatigue  and  death,  led  on  always  by  dreams 
of  sudden  wealth. 


SPANISH   IDEAS   IN  AMERICA  385 

De  Soto  came  (1 539—1 540)  to  the  southern  part  of 
what  is  now  the  United  States,  with  high  hopes  of  find- 
ing as  rich  cities  as  Pizarro  had  done  a  few  years  before. 
He,  like  most  of  the  Spanish  explorers,  was  cruel  to  the 
Indians.  He  forced  them  to  act  as  guides  or  pack- 
animals  through  the  country,  and  killed  or  tortured 
those  who  refused  to  do  so.  He  failed  to  find  any 
treasure,  though  he  wandered  many  miles  through 
the  swamps  of  Florida,  the  forests  of  Georgia  and 
Alabama  and  at  last  discovered  the  Mississippi  River. 
This  he  crossed,  and,  circling  across  the  grassy  western 
plains,  again  returned  to  the  Mississippi,  where  he  died. 
His  followers,  it  is  said,  lowered  his  body  at  midnight 
in  the  waters  of  the  river  he  had  discovered. 

Cortez,  Pizarro  and  De  Soto  are  but  types  of  the 
many  brave  and  cruel  Spaniards  who  traversed  almost 
all  parts  of  South  and  Central  America,  Mexico,  Texas, 
California,  and  what  are  now  New  Mexico,  Arizona  and 
Nevada,  during  the  two  hundred  years  following  the 
conquests  of  these  great  explorers.  Throughout  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  the  Spanish  soldier 
and  adventurer  and  the  Spanish  priest  came  to  America 
by  the  tens  of  thousands  to  gain  territory,  grow  rich, 
obtain  gold  for  the  king  of  Spain  and  convert  the  natives 
to  Christianity.  Since  the  Spaniards  had  so  much  to 
do  with  the  Indians,  and  were  influenced  by  them  so 
greatly,  we  must  now  know  something  of  them. 

The  Indians  differed  in  different  parts  of  the  New 
World,  owing  partly  to  differences  in  the  geographical 
conditions  of  the  various  regions.  In  many  parts  of  the 
country  they  lived  by  hunting  and  fishing,  and  in  the 
warmer  parts  by  gathering  the  tropical  products  which 


386  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

were  obtained  by  little  labor.  Along  the  coast  in  the 
tropics  the  hot  climate  and  fertile  soil  produced  a 
luxuriant  growth  of  vegetable  life.  Farther  back  from 
the  coast  the  ground  was  higher  and  the  climate  not  so 
hot  and  unhealthf  ul.  Corn  was  here  grown  by  the  Indi- 
ans, two  crops  being  raised  in  a  year  with  little  labor. 
In  Brazil  the  great  Amazon  River  flowed  eastward  to 
the  sea.  All  about  it  stretched  jungles  and  forests,  with 
intertwining  vines  which  made  the  forest  almost  impene- 
trable. Here,  too,  were  fierce  animals,  enormous  reptiles, 
poisonous  insects  and  plants.  With  a  hot,  weakening 
climate,  many  wild  fruits  and  berries  at  hand,  and  a  soil 
so  rich  that  vegetation  sprang  up  as  soon  as  the  ground 
was  cleared,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  Indians  of  the 
Amazon  Valley  did  not  make  the  advancement  that 
they  did  in  Mexico  and  Peru.  They  lived  in  tribes,  or 
clans,  generally  with  a  chief,  or  ruler,  fighting  their  bat- 
tles with  bows  and  arrows,  hard  wooden  spears,  and 
swords  tipped  with  bone  or  metal. 

If  you  will  take  your  maps,  you  will  see  that  follow- 
ing the  Pacific  coast  are  several  long  mountain  ranges, 
with  high  plateaus  between,  running  through  Mexico, 
Central  America  and  South  America.  In  these  high 
mountains  were  rich  mines  of  gold,  silver,  copper  and 
iron.  The  climate  on  these  plateaus  was  much  cooler 
and  pleasanter  than  that  in  the  lowland  regions.  In 
many  valleys  the  soil  was  fertile.  The  Indians  living 
here  had  advanced  much  more  toward  civilization  than 
anywhere  else  in  North  or  South  America  ;  for  they  did 
not  have  to  struggle  for  existence  and  face  starvation  as 
those  in  the  colder  North,  nor  were  their  wants  supplied 
with  little  effort  of  their  own,  as  in  the  tropical  regions 


SPANISH   IDEAS   IN   AMERICA  387 

of  Central  and  South  America.  Those  in  Mexico  and 
what  is  now  Peru  lived  in  towns,  with  a  regular  govern- 
ment, and  had  farms  with  irrigating  canals  on  which 
they  raised  cotton,  corn,  tobacco,  bananas,  oranges  and 
olives.  All  of  the  Indians  had  some  way  of  worship- 
ing God,  and  a  belief  in  the  happy  hunting-grounds 
beyond  the  grave.  They  sometimes  offered  human 
sacrifices  to  their  gods. 

Into  this  land,  then,  —  a  land  of  flowers  and  sunshine 
and  ease,  a  land  of  gold  and  silver,  a  land  rather  thickly 
populated  in  parts  by  the  Indians,  —  came  the  Spaniard 
through  the  sixteenth,  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries.  The  mild  climate  was  much  the  same  as  in 
the  home  he  left  behind,  and  the  soil  so  fertile  that  it 
had  but  to  be  scratched  to  yield  abundant  crops.  Thus 
the  new  settlers,  like  the  Indians,  had  little  trouble  in 
getting  enough  to  eat,  and  were  not  obliged  to  build 
warm  houses  and  live  close  together  so  as  to  help  one 
another,  as  were  the  English  settlers  along  the  Atlantic 
coast.  Fifty  years  before  the  English  or  the  French 
had  made  a  single  permanent  settlement  in  the  New 
World,  Spain  had  explored  so  extensively  and  estab- 
lished military  posts  and  missions  over  such  vast  reaches 
of  territory  that  her  claim  seemed  assured  to  most  of 
South  America,  all  of  Central  America  and  Mexico  and 
a  large  part  of  what  is  now  the  United  States. 

The  king  of  Spain,  who  claimed  to  own  all  the  land 
himself,  just  as  did  the  feudal  lord  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
made  grants  of  territory  to  those  who  wished  to  found 
settlements  in  America,  having  them  promise  to  convert 
the  natives  and  to  send  to  Spain  one-fifth  of  all  the 
precious  metals  found.     Along  with  the  land  the  king 


388  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

granted  the  colonizer  a  certain  number  of  Indians,  who, 
according  to  the  rule,  were  obliged  to  work  a  part  of  the 
time  for  the  owner,  another  part  for  the  king,  and  were 
then  to  #be  free  to  work  for  themselves  for  the  rest  of 
the  time.  But  most  of  the  owners  obliged  the  Indians 
to  work  as  slaves  all  the  time,  in  spite  of  the  rule.  Thus 
you  see,  the  way  the  land  was  granted,  the  way  it  was 
worked,  and  the  treatment  of  those  who  worked  it,  were 
not  essentially  different  from  the  way  we  saw  them 
under  Feudalism,  in  the  fifth  grade.  Feudalism  was 
no  doubt  a  good  government  for  the  Middle  Ages,  but 
as  compared  to  democracy,  where  all  the  people  have  an 
equal  chance  for  the  wealth,  comforts  and  pleasures  of 
life,  it  is  very  poor. 

As  Spanish  settlement  increased  in  America  the  terri- 
tory claimed  by  Spain  was  divided  for  governmental 
purposes  into  four  great  districts,  called  viceroyalties. 
The  king  appointed  officers,  called  viceroys,  to  come 
over  from  Spain  to  rule  these  for  him.  The  viceroy  was 
(i)  to  get  as  much  gold  as  possible  for  the  king,  (2)  to 
see  that  the  laws  were  obeyed,  (3)  to  get  the  colonists 
to  raise  what  Spain  needed,  (4)  to  see  that  all  had  the 
same  religion,  and  (5)  to  protect  the  Indians.  He  never 
failed  to  look  carefully  after  the  gold,  both  for  himself 
and  the  king,  but  generally  failed  to  give  much  thought 
to  the  rights  of  the  Indians. 

Many  subordinate  officers  were  also  appointed,  with 
various  duties.  The  viceroyalty  was  divided,  and  each 
subdivision  was  ruled  by  a  governor,  appointed  also  by 
the  authorities  in  Spain.  All  officers  were  told  to  watch 
one  another  and  report  any  wrongdoing  to  the  king ; 
this  tended  to  make  the  official  class  a  body  of  spies,  and 


SPANISH   IDEAS   IN   AMERICA  389 

did  not  lead  them  to  work  together  harmoniously  for 
free  government,  as  was  the  case  among  the  English 
colonists  in  America.  As  the  colonies  grew  in  popu- 
lation, more  officers  were  appointed.  In  fact,  there 
finally  grew  to  be  swarms  of  officers  in  the  colonies, 
new  offices  being  continually  created  for  the  Spanish 
nobles  and  other  favorites  of  the  king. 

Afterwhile  it  came  to  be  much  as  it  once  was  in  the 
worst  days  of  Rome,  — the  one  who  would  pay  the  most 
money  for  the  office  was  sure  to  be  appointed.  Of 
course  the  officer  must  then  make  enough  money  in 
America  to  reimburse  himself,  and  a  fortune  besides. 
This  led  to  the  greatest  oppression  by  the  official  class 
of  both  the  natives  and  the  poorer  Spanish  colonists. 

All  laws  for  the  colonies  were  made  in  Spain,  not  a 
law  having  been  made  by  the  colonists  themselves  from 
the  day  Spain  set  foot  on  the  New  World  at  the  end 
of  the  fifteenth  century  till  she  withdrew  from  it  at 
the  end  of  the  nineteenth.  The  higher  judges  of  the 
courts  also  were  sent  to  the  colonies  from  Spain.  If 
some  great  colonial  question  were  to  be  decided,  an  ap- 
peal could  be  made  from  the  colonies  to  a  court  in 
Spain,  or  to  the  king  himself,  for  settlement ;  but  most 
disputes  were  settled  by  the  judges  in  America. 

The  colonists  could  elect  no  officials  except  some  of 
the  town  officers,  and  it  soon  came  about  that  they  did 
not  do  even  this.  It  was  Spain's  fixed  policy,  in  managing 
her  colonies,  to  give  no  rights  to  the  colonists  in  making 
laws,  and  none  in  electing  officers.  Throughout  her 
entire  colonial  history  she  treated  her  colonies  as  a  parent 
treats  a  child.  She  never  thought  them  old  enough  or 
wanted  them  to  become    old  enough  to  take  care  of 


390  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

themselves  ;  nor  was  she  like  the  English  king,  who  left 
his  colonists  to  look  out  for  themselves  for  so  long  that 
when  he  wished  Parliament  to  make  laws  for  them 
without  their  consent  they  refused  to  permit  it.  Spain 
watched  over  her  colonies  from  the  first,  and  checked 
every  step  which  tended  to  teach  them  to  walk  alone. 

Spain  sometimes  tried  to  enforce  laws  for  the  proper 
treatment  of  the  Indians.  But  though  some  officers  did 
their  best  to  treat  them  well,  it  was  always  the  case,  as  I 
have  already  told  you,  that  those  who  bought  their 
offices  cared  more  to  make  money  than  to  protect  the 
Indians.  It  was,  therefore,  the  general  rule  that  in  their 
mad  struggle  for  gold  they  enslaved  and  brutally  treated 
the  Indian. 

But  I  must  tell  you  also  something  of  the  laws  passed 
in  Spain  for  the  treatment  of  the  Spanish  colonists  who 
came  to  America.  The  Spanish  king  and  his  counselors 
cared  more  for  themselves  than  for  the  colonists,  and 
made  such  laws  for  ruling  America  as  they  thought 
would  bring  most  wealth  into  their  own  pockets  and 
into  the  treasury  of  Spain.  The  colonies  were  not  al- 
lowed to  trade  with  other  countries  or  with  one  another. 
All  trade  was  to  be  with  Spain,  wholly  by  Spaniards 
and  on  Spanish  ships.  Spain  thought  by  following  this 
course  not  only  to  make  more  money,  but  also  to  keep 
her  colonies  wholly  dependent  on  the  home  country,  so 
that  they  would  not  develop  an  intercolonial  trade  and 
thus  grow  strong  and  independent. 

Now  the  result  of  all  this  was  that  the  people  in 
Spain,  by  getting  so  much  gold  and  produce  from 
America  without  working  for  it,  became  lazy.  They 
did    less    farming  and    manufacturing    at  home  from 


Spanish  ideas  in  America  391 

year  to  year,  and  depended  on  American  gold  to  buy 
what  they  wanted.  They  forbade  the  Americans  to 
manufacture  what  they  used,  as  woolen  or  cotton  goods, 
or  wine,  or  olive  oil,  or  hoes  or  rakes.  Thus  Spain  hoped 
to  make  a  profit  selling  manufactured  articles  to  the  colo- 
nists; but  when  the  home  country  ceased  to  manufacture, 
as  was  the  case  very  largely  through  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries,  because  her  people  grew  idle 
and  ignorant,  she  had  to  spend  all  the  more  money  in 
buying  of  other  countries  what  the  colonists  needed,  as 
well  as  what  she  herself  needed  for  home  use.  Thus, 
in  spite  of  the  great  influx  of  gold  from  the  American 
mines,  Spain  was  really  becoming  poorer  and  weaker  in 
industry,  in  self-reliance,  economy,  and  in  the  intelligence 
of  her  people ;  and  without  these  no  nation  can  live  or 
hope  to  grow  strong. 

The  colonists  were  forbidden  to  raise  olives,  tobacco, 
grapes,  or  any  other  products  that  Spain  wished  to  raise 
at  home ;  but  they  were  encouraged  to  grow  such  things 
as  Spain  needed  and  did  not  produce  at  home.  Thus 
there  grew  to  be  great  sugar  plantations  in  the  West 
Indies,  where  many  Indians  and  negroes  were  worked 
in  gangs  as  slaves.  In  Central  America,  Mexico  and 
California,  wheat  and  barley  were  raised  around  the 
monasteries,  and  many  horses,  cattle  and  sheep  were 
herded  on  the  hillsides  and  in  the  upland  valleys. 
These  generally  ran  wild  and  needed  but  little  care. 

But  what  the  Spaniard  struggled  most  for,  as  I  have 
already  told  you,  were  the  precious  metals ;  from  this 
it  came  about  that  one  of  the  chief  occupations  in  the 
colonies  was  mining.  Many  rich  mines  of  gold  and 
silver  were  found,  especially  in  Mexico  and  Peru,  and 


392  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

the  Indians  were  generally  compelled  under  the  lash  to 
work  them.  The  Spanish  law  provided,  that  the  In- 
dians should  be  paid,  and  this  was  occasionally  done; 
but  more  generally  they  were  brutally  treated,  poorly 
fed  and  scantily  clothed.  Under  such  treatment  they 
generally  came  to  an  early  death. 

The  method  of  mining  in  this  early  time  was  often 
old-fashioned,  for  they  had  but  little  machinery.  When 
the  silver  or  gold  was  found  near  the  surface,  the  dirt 
containing  ore  was  thrown  into  a  stream,  where  it  was 
turned  over  and  over  by  the  water  until  it  was  washed 
from  the  ore.  Sometimes  it  was  necessary  to  go  deep 
into  the  ground  to  find  the  metal.  When  this  was  the 
case  two  long  timbers  were  set  slantwise,  with  notches 
cut  in  them  for  steps,  which  the  Indians  used  as  a  lad- 
der. From  day  to  day  they  toiled  up  the  rude  steps  with 
loads  of  ore  upon  their  backs.  Not  being  used  to  regu- 
lar and  hard  labor,  the  Indian  soon  broke  down,  when 
he  was  cast  aside  and  others  compelled  to  take  his 
place.  Thus  Spain  founded  her  industrial  system  in 
the  New  World  upon  slavery.  In  this  particular  as 
well  as  in  the  government  she  set  up,  Spain  imitated 
Old  Rome ;  for,  as  we  saw  when  studying  in  the  fourth 
grade,  when  Rome  grew  rich  and  luxurious,  she  came 
to  have  millions  of  slaves,  who  did  the  work  while 
Rome's  citizens  reveled  in  idleness,  luxury  and  crime. 

The  ore  of  the  mine  was  melted,  or  smelted,  and  the 
pure  metal  taken  out.  At  first  this  was  done  by  hot 
fires  blown  by  a  bellows,  such  as  you  have  seen  in  black- 
smiths' shops.  Afterwhile,  a  man  in  South  America 
discovered  a  way  to  do  this  much  more  easily  by  the  aid 
of  quicksilver.     Then  the  mother  country  required  the 


SPANISH   IDEAS   IN   AMERICA  393 

colonists  to  buy  quicksilver  of  her,  and  to  give  in  return 
one-fifth  of  all  the  silver  or  gold  smelted  by  means  of  it. 

Let  us  now  look  at  the  social  life  which  grew  up  in 
the  Spanish  colonies.  The  Spanish  colonist  in  gen- 
eral considered  himself  vastly  better  than  the  Indians 
among  whom  he  lived,  though  some  of  the  colonists 
married  Indian  wives.  There  were  also  sharp  class 
distinctions  between  the  colonists  themselves.  The  offi- 
cers and  their  families,  who  came  from  Spain  and  re- 
turned as  soon  as  they  had  grown  rich,  considered 
themselves  much  superior  to  the  ordinary  colonists. 
These  latter  were  often  old  soldiers,  who  had  been  given 
grants  of  land  in  the  new  country  to  pay  for  past  serv- 
ices. Those  who  were  born  in  the  colonies  were  called 
Americans,  and  were  considered  inferior  to  both  of  the 
other  classes.  These  were  seldom  appointed  to  office. 
For  example,  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  viceroys,  who 
ruled  in  the  department  of  Buenos  Ayres,  four  only 
were  Americans,  the  remainder  being  sent  from  Spain ; 
of  six  hundred  and  ten  captains-general  and  governors, 
who  ruled  in  the  same  viceroyalty,  only  fourteen  were 
Americans. 

Towns  often  grew  up  around  the  forts  which  Spain 
established  on  the  frontiers.  The  houses  were  gener- 
ally built  of  adobe,  as  sun-dried  brick  is  called.  Many 
of  them  were  rudely  built,  with  dirt  floors  and  no  chim- 
neys or  fireplaces,  as  fire  was  little  needed  in  this  sunny 
land  to  keep  them  warm.  As  they  also  largely  led  out- 
of-door  lives,  houses  were  little  needed  for  any  purpose 
except  shelter  and  to  hang  their  beds  of  rawhide  in. 
Some  houses  had  board  floors  and  were  whitewashed 
without  and  plastered  within.    The  better  houses,  for  the 


394  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

officers  and  richer  planters,  were  built  about  an  open 
square,  like  the  houses  of  the  old  Romans,  or  the  castles 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  sometimes  had  beautiful  foun- 
tains and  flowers  in  the  inner  court.  These  were  often 
richly  furnished  with  furniture  brought  from  Spain. 

The  Spanish  colonists  themselves  led  a  lazy,  easy- 
going life  in  most  respects.  The  country,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  yielded  in  great  abundance ;  and  since 
they  could  not  make  their  own  laws  or  elect  their  owi? 
officers,  there  was  wanting  that  political  stimulation 
which  always  kept  the  English  colonists  wide  awake  and 
ever  on  duty  that  their  liberties  should  not  be  taken  from 
them.  The  converted  Indians  did  most  of  the  work 
around  the  forts  and  monasteries,  and  it  was  easy  to 
raise  enough  to  eat.  Many  of  them  did  not  care  to 
raise  much  more,  for  only  a  limited  amount  could  be 
sent  to  Spain,  and  they  were  not  allowed,  as  I  have 
told  you,  to  sell  elsewhere.  Sometimes  when  they  took 
their  produce  to  the  seaport  to  ship  it  to  Spain,  the 
vessel  would  have  a  load  without  it,  and  it  would  be  left 
to  spoil.  It  was  absolutely  forbidden  for  one  Spanish 
colony  to  trade  with  another. 

Great  herds  of  horses  and  cattle  ran  wild  through- 
out many  of  the  Spanish  colonies.  There  was  plenty 
of  meat  to  eat,  and  a  horse  for  every  one  to  ride.  If  a 
person  of  culture  and  refinement  were  traveling  through 
the  Spanish  colonies,  he  was  freely  entertained  by  the 
hospitable  Spaniard,  and  if  his  horse  became  tired,  he 
had  but  to  turn  it  loose  and  catch  another.  At  many 
times  and  places  thousands  of  horses  and  cattle  were 
slaughtered  merely  to  reduce  their  number. 

The  upper  classes  of  the  Spanish  colonists  were  very 


SPANISH   IDEAS   IN  AMERICA  395 

polite.  They  were  also  very  fond  of  games  and  sports, 
and,  like  the  Romans  in  their  degenerate  days,  had 
many  holidays,  on  which  great  crowds  of  gayly  dressed 
men  and  women  gathered  in  the  towns  to  watch  bull- 
fights, cockfights,  and  other  cruel  sports.  A  dance 
would  follow  in  the  evening,  where  the  brocades  and 
velvets  of  the  ladies  and  the  brilliant  Spanish  uniform 
of  the  officers  and  soldiers  made  an  interesting  scene. 
The  guitar  and  banjo  were  the  accompaniments  of  every 
social  gathering.  Sometimes  the  people  held  carnivals, 
something  like  the  Mardi  Gras  held  now  in  New  Orleans. 
Dressing  themselves  in  as  much  pomp  and  glitter  as  the 
knights  of  the  days  of  chivalry,  they  paraded  through  the 
town,  masked  themselves,  crowded  through  the  streets, 
broke  over  one  another  eggshells  filled  with  bits  of  sil- 
ver paper  or  sweet-scented  water,  sang  songs,  danced, 
drank  wine,  and  attended  the  bullfights  and  other 
sports. 

We  may  expect  people  thus  devoted  to  idleness, 
luxury  and  pleasure  to  care  little  for  books  or  schools. 
Indeed,  in  all  the  centuries  of  Spanish  rule  in  North, 
South  and  Central  America,  there  were  no  free  schools 
ever  established.  There  were  always  monastic  schools 
at  the  monasteries,  just  as  in  the  Middle  Ages,  where 
religion  chiefly,  and  occasionally  reading,  writing  and 
arithmetic,  were  taught.  These  were  attended  by  the 
Indians  who  had  been  converted  and  had  been  induced 
by  the  monks  to  live  at  the  monastery.  Most  of  the 
people  had  little  education  themselves,  and  cared  little 
for  educating  their  children.  When  we  come  to  study 
the  English  colonists,  we  shall  see  how  vastly  different 
is   their   thirst    for    knowledge    and    the    efforts   they 


396  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

make  to  securely  provide  for  it,  from  the  careless  igno- 
rance and  indifference  of  the  Spaniard. 

Now  we  must  briefly  look  at  the  religious  ideas  Spain 
brought  to  America.  We  have  already  seen  in  the  study 
of  the  Reformation  that  the  people  of  Spain  established 
in  their  own  country  but  one  religion.  In  our  study  of  the 
Reformation,  in  the  sixth  grade,  we  saw  also  that  Luther 
did  not  agree  with  the  Catholic  Church,  and  that  many 
others  came  to  believe  as  he  did.  So  they  and  others 
separated  from  it  during  the  sixteenth  century  and  were 
called  Protestants ;  and  this  led  to  many  Protestant 
churches  being  formed  in  many  countries  in  northern 
Europe.  But  in  Spain  the  king  was  determined  that 
all  should  believe  just  one  way  in  religious  matters,  and 
punished  or  drove  from  the  country  those  who  did  not 
hold  what  he  considered  the  true  belief.  He  drove  the 
Moors  and  Jews  from  the  country,  and  by  doing  so 
deprived  the  nation  of  its  most  industrious,  most  intelli- 
gent, and  in  many  cases  most  wealthy,  population.  He 
appointed  a  court  to  inquire  carefully  into  what  people 
practiced  in  religious  matters.  This  court  of  inquiry, 
or  Inquisition  Court,  as  it  was  called,  did  many  cruel 
things  to  the  people  who  did  not  believe  as  the  Spanish 
authorities  thought  they  should.  Many  were  burned 
or  tortured,  while  thousands  lost  their  lives  because 
of  their  faith.  It  has  been  estimated  that  eight  hun- 
dred thousand  Moors  were  driven  out  of  Spain  by 
Philip  III,  who  ruled  from  1598  to  1621.  His  motto 
was,  "  Better  not  reign  at  all  than  reign  over  heretics." 
Some  of  the  monks  and  priests  in  the  Spanish  colonies 
reported  to  the  king  and  Inquisition  Court  that  many  of 
the  newly  converted  Indians  in  America  did  not  believe 


SPANISH   IDEAS   IN   AMERICA  397 

as  they  should.  Some  were  burnt  and  many  tortured. 
Then  a  request  was  sent  to  the  king  to  ask  for  a  branch 
of  the  Inquisition  Court  to  be  set  up  in  America.  The 
king  consented,  but  was  reasonable  enough  to  say  that 
the  Indians  were  not  well  enough  educated  to  know 
much  about  true  church  beliefs,  and  should  not  be 
tortured  or  burnt.  But  he  said  the  Spanish  colonists 
did  know  and  should  be  made  to  believe  as  the  authori- 
ties in  Spain  desired.  The  court  was  established  in 
South  America,  and  prevented  different  sects  of  religion 
from  springing  up  there.  As  in  the  home  country  sev- 
eral were  killed,  and  others  tortured.  This  had  the 
effect  also  of  keeping  the  industrious  and  freedom-lov- 
ing Spaniard,  who  was  driven  from  his  home  country, 
from  seeking  a  new  home  in  the  Spanish  colonies.  When 
we  study  the  English  colonies,  we  shall  see  that  when 
the  Englishman  was  driven  from  home,  he  fled  to  the 
colonies  of  his  own  blood  in  America  and  immediately 
began  to  develop  a  freer  life  there  than  existed  at 
home.  However,  in  judging  of  Spain's  treatment  of 
those  who  desired  freedom  in  religious  thought  it  is 
well  to  remember  that  it  was  in  an  age  when  no  sect  — 
either  Protestant  or  Catholic  —  had  come  to  practice  re- 
ligious toleration  to  any  extent,  and  that  Spain's  policy 
was  not  different  in  kind  but  only  in  degree  from  the 
policy  of  other  nations  and  religions  of  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries.  Spain,  however,  was  differ- 
ent from  England  in  preventing  persons  of  various  re- 
ligious faith  from  settling  in  her  colonies.  In  this  way 
she  prevented  free  discussion,  which,  in  religion  as  in 
all  other  subjects,  is  the  best  means  of  broadening 
knowledge  and  leading  to  tolerant  views. 


398  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

I  have  already  told  you  something  of  the  monks. 
In  Spain  there  were  four  different  orders,  or  great 
families,  of  monks.  All  were  eager  to  come  to  the 
New  World  to  convert  the  natives  and  obtain  wealth  for 
their  order,  and  begged  the  king  for  permission.  He 
gave  his  permission,  for  he  knew  wherever  the  monks 
set  up  a  mission  the  Spanish  king  could  claim  the 
country.  Soon  many  good  and  earnest  men  were  trav- 
eling over  New  Spain,  —  as  Spain  called  her  possessions 
in  America,  —  settling  down  in  the  most  fertile  valleys, 
converting  the  natives,  and  finally  gaining  vast  wealth 
for  their  orders,  just  as  the  monks  had  done  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  when  they  pushed  into  the  swamps  and 
woods  and  converted  the  natives  of  Europe,  and  taught 
them  patiently  the  lessons  of  monastic  life. 

Generally  two  monks  went  together  into  the  part  of 
country  where  they  wanted  to  found  a  mission,  and 
made  friends  with  the  Indians  by  giving  them  cloth, 
pretty  beads  and  the  like.  Here  they  made  their  home, 
and,  after  slowly  winning  the  good  will  of  the  Indians, 
taught  them  their  religion. 

These  missions  were  generally  close  enough  together 
that  several  could  be  overseen  by  one  monk,  who  was 
put  in  charge,  as  a  kind  of  superintendent,  and  who 
traveled  from  one  to  the  other.  As  these  Spanish  mis- 
sions spread,  of  course  Spain's  claims  spread  farther 
and  farther.  It  was  in  this  way,  chiefly,  that  Spain 
gained  possession  of  such  a  large  part  of  South  Amer- 
ica, as  well  as  California,  New  Mexico,  Arizona  and 
most  of  Colorado. 

These  monks  were  often  noble  men  and  oftentimes 
tried    earnestly    to    secure    better    treatment    for    the 


SPANISH    IDEAS    IN   AMERICA  399 

natives  than  was  given  to  them  by  the  soldiers  and 
planters,  and  sometimes  succeeded  in  making  the  offi- 
cers see  to  it  that  the  Indians  were  not  enslaved.  But 
so  strong  was  the  love  of  gold,  both  on  the  part  of 
the  home  country  and  of  the  officers,  that  the  plunder 
of  the  natives  was  the  rule,  and  millions  of  them,  as  we 
have  seen,  died  under  the  inhuman  burdens  placed  upon 
them,  notwithstanding  the  entreaties  of  the  best  of  the 
monks. 

Let  us  now  see  how  the  missionaries  themselves 
treated  the  Indians.  Those  who  had  been  converted, 
and  who  lived  at  a  mission,  were  called  neophytes 
(which  means  new  converts)  and  were  regarded  as  a 
part  of  the  property  of  the  mission.  They  must  rise 
at  sunrise,  and,  led  by  the  priest,  must  march  to  the 
church  and  spend  an  hour  in  worship.  Then  came  a 
breakfast  of  roasted  barley.  Then  each  went  to  his 
duty,  some  cooking  food  or  weaving  cloth,  others  mak- 
ing sandals  or  shoes ;  some  tended  the  orchards,  others 
sowed  and  reaped  the  wheat  and  barley;  and  yet 
others  herded  such  of  the  cattle,  horses,  sheep  and 
goats  as  did,  not  run  wild.  All  things  were  held  in 
common  at  the  mission,  the  labor  of  the  Indians  being 
considered  as  belonging  wholly  to  the  monastery,  for 
which  they  received  food,  clothing  and  instruction. 
The  monks  gave  great  attention  to  instructing  them 
in  religious  affairs,  and,  in  their  great  earnestness  to 
have  them  practice  religious  ceremonies,  often  gave 
them  little  other  instruction.  They  were  not  generally 
overworked,  and  as  the  monasteries  grew  wealthy 
they  came  often  to  lead  lives  largely  of  idleness 
and  pleasure.     But  one  of  the  results  of  the  monastic 


400  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

life  was  that  the  converts  were  taught  to  depend  on 
the  monks,  not  on  themselves;  in  fact,  the  converted 
Indians  were  really  the  slaves  of  the  monastery.  When 
at  last  the  missions  were  destroyed  in  the  first  half  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  the  neophytes  were  scattered, 
and  the  work  which  the  monasteries  had  done  very 
largely  tumbled  into  ruin.  Here,  again,  Spain  had 
slowly  but  surely  failed  to  build  this  phase  of  her  life 
in  the  New  World  upon  freedom,  and  when  the  shock 
of  a  freer  civilization  came  against  it,  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  it  fell. 

Thus  we  have  seen  Spain,  by  far  the  wealthiest  na- 
tion in  Europe  in  the  sixteenth  century,  reach  out  her 
strong  arm,  and,  during  the  three  centuries  following 
Columbus's  discoveries,  conquer  and  settle,  in  her  way, 
a  vast  amount  of  territory  in  the  New  World.  We  have 
seen  the  Spanish  conquering  and  claiming  all  of  South 
America  except  Brazil,  all  of  Mexico,  Central  America, 
and  what  is  now  Florida,  Texas,  New  Mexico,  Arizona 
and  California.  Spain  began  her  settlements  a  hundred 
years  before  the  French  planted  a  single  permanent  set- 
tlement in  the  valleys  of  the  Mississippi  and  St.  Law- 
rence, or  the  English  had  a  permanent  footing  on  the 
Atlantic  coast.  She  traveled  over  the  country  much 
faster,  claimed  more  territory,  and  planted  settlements 
in  a  land  of  ease  and  sunshine,  where  wealth  could  be 
had  with  little  toil.  With  these  favorable  conditions 
and  this  early  start,  why  has  not  Spain  and  Spanish  in- 
stitutions come  finally  to  rule  in  the  New  World  ?  The 
answer  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  Spain  did  not 
bring  to  the  New  World  ideas  and  institutions  which 
taught   the   people    self-support,    self-dependence,   and 


SPANISH    IDEAS   IN   AMERICA  4OI 

that  slow,  natural  growth  in  tilling  the  soil,  building 
manufacturies,  developing  trade  and  practicing  econ- 
omy which  make  a  people  strong,  free  and  self-reliant. 
While  the  English  colonists  were  coming  to  America 
during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  to  ob- 
tain freedom  of  religion,  and  were  building  Puritan,  Bap- 
tist, Catholic,  Quaker,  Episcopalian  and  other  churches, 
where  free  discussion  and  free  worship  gradually  grew, 
the  Spanish  colonists  were  being  held  by  the  strongest 
grip  to  a  single  religious  thought,  which  prevented 
free  discussion  and  developed  tyranny.  While  the 
English  were  learning  the  lessons  of  political  free- 
dom by  holding  meetings  in  each  township,  county 
and  village  to  elect  their  own  officers  and  make  their 
own  laws,  the  Spanish  king  was  sending  officers  from 
Spain  to  see  that  laws  made  in  Spain  and  for  Spain 
were  arbitrarily  enforced  among  the  colonists.  While 
the  English  were  toiling  slowly  and  patiently  to  root 
their  institutions  in  their  little  farms  cleared  of  the 
forest  and  stones  and  swamps  by  their  own  hands, 
the  Spanish  were  plundering  the  natives  for  gold,  re- 
ducing them  to  the  condition  of  slavery  on  the  large 
plantations  or  around  the  monastery,  and  living  lives 
of  pleasure  and  ease.  While  the  English  king  was 
paying  little  heed  to  the  slow  but  sure  growth  which 
was  making  the  English  colonists  both  free  and  wealthy, 
the  Spanish  king  was  drawing  every  ounce  of  gold 
and  bushel  of  grain  possible,  back  to  the  home  country 
to  support  his  large  army,  his  luxurious  court  and  the 
Inquisition.  It  is  true  that  both  England  and  Spain 
tried  to  rule  their  colonies  for  the  mother  country ;  but 
the  difference  is  that  the  English  colonists  came  of  theif 


402  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

own  accord,  and  in  spite  of  the  home  government  began 
immediately  to  develop  free  religion,  free  government, 
free  trade,  a  public  school  system,  especially  in  New 
England,  and  to  bring  their  wives  and  children  with 
them  to  make  the  New  World  their  permanent  home ; 
while  the  Spanish  colonists  were  sent  to  America  by 
the  king  and  for  the  king,  and  were  compelled  to  hold 
to  the  religious  thought  and  practice  of  a  single  faith, 
to  obey  the  governor  without  question,  to  cultivate  the 
field  with  slaves,  to  submissively  send  its  products  back 
to  the  king's  table,  to  establish  monastic  schools,  but  no 
public  system  of  education;  and  only  rarely  did  the 
highest  class  of  Spaniards  come  to  America  to  make  it 
their  permanent  home.  The  English  colonists  had  in 
themselves  germs  of  new  life ;  the  Spanish,  germs  of  de- 
cay and  death.  The  English  colonist  was  like  a  young 
tree  planted  in  new  soil ;  the  Spanish,  like  a  post  driven 
in  the  ground :  the  one  grew,  the  other  decayed. 

Thus  it  came  about  that  when  the  English  colonists 
resisted  the  unjust  laws  of  the  king  and  Parliament  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  it  was  natural,  and 
with  but  comparatively  little  difficulty,  that  they  became 
independent,  and  immediately  united  themselves  into 
a  great  nation  and  continued  the  free  growth  of  their 
already  well-rooted  institutions  till  they  spread  from 
Atlantic  to  Pacific  during  the  nineteenth  century. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  Spanish  colonists  were  always 
kept  in  check  by  the  most  despotic  laws.  We  have  also 
seen  that  the  Spanish  king  drove  the  Moors,  the  Jews, 
and  those  accused  of  heresy  from  Spain,  and  in  doing 
so  lost  more  in  national  wealth,  strength  and  glory  than 
could  be  regained  in  all  the  mines  of  Mexico  and  Peru. 


SPANISH    IDEAS    IN   AMERICA 


403 


As  Spain's  freer  population  was  driven  out  of  the  coun- 
try her  tyrannical  population  grew  less  healthy  and  her 
national  life  fell  rapidly  into  decay.  Many  of  her  citi- 
zens became  idle,  many  became  beggars,  —  her  looms 
stopped,  her  fields  became  wastes.  With  all  this,  the 
gold  and  silver  mines  in  America  began  to  fail  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  which  led  Spain  to  tax  her  citizens 
all  the  heavier  to  secure  the  food  and  clothing  which 
she  no  longer  produced  herself,  and  to  keep  up  the  great 
army  and  the  expensive  court.  By  his  strict  laws  of 
trade  and  taxation  the  king  had  destroyed  commerce 
and  made  his  nation  a  land  of  beggars. 

The  tyranny  of  the  king,  the  oppression  of  the  clergy, 
and  the  unjust  laws  of  trade,  finally  led,  in  the  first  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  to  the  rebellion  of  the  Spanish 
colonies  in  America  from  the  mother  country.  As  they 
dropped  away  from  Spain  they  came  either  into  the 
possession  or  under  the  protection  of  the  United  States. 
The  United  States  bought  Florida  in  18 19.  Beginning 
with  1 82 1  and  continuing  for  nearly  twenty  years  the 
colonies  of  Mexico  and  Central  and  South  America, 
largely  under  the  leadership  of  General  Bolivar,  gained 
their  independence  of  Spain,  and  set  to  work  to  establish 
independent  governments  for  themselves.  Since  these 
colonies  had  been  given  no  practice  in  self-government 
during  the  three  hundred  years  of  Spanish  rule,  they 
did  not  at  first  know  how,  and  have  not  yet  learned,  to 
carry  forward  free  government  with  such  ability  as  has 
been  shown  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 

By  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  declared  in  1823  by  Presi- 
dent Monroe,  we  showed  our  sympathy  for  these  revolting 
colonies  by  saying  that  if  European  countries,  such  for 


404  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

example  as  Russia,  Austria  and  France,  should  ally 
themselves  with  Spain,  and  help  her  to  conquer  the 
revolting  colonies  and  hold  them  in  subjection,  we  would 
regard  such  an  act  on  their  part  as  unfriendly  to  the 
United  States.  Thus  the  sympathy  of  the  United 
States  greatly  aided  the  Spanish  colonies  to  gain  their 
independence  and  has  been  a  constant  protection  to 
them  ever  since  they  became  free,  nearly  seventy-five 
years  ago. 

The  people  of  Texas  became  as  dissatisfied  with  the 
rule  of  Mexico,  after  Mexico  had  become  independent 
of  Spain,  as  they  had  been  with  that  of  Spain  herself. 
They  rebelled,  therefore,  in  1836,  from  Mexico,  and 
Texas  was  annexed  to  the  United  States  in  1845.  This 
soon  led  to  war  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico. 
At  the  close  of  this  war,  in  1848,  and  as  a  result  of  it,  the 
United  States  obtained  New  Mexico,  Texas,  California, 
Arizona  (except  the  Gadsden  Purchase),  and  the  greater 
part  of  Colorado.  Thus  was  Spain's  grip  gradually 
drawn  from  every  foot  of  territory  within  the  present 
bounds  of  the  United  States.  It  was  the  final  triumph, 
after  three  and  a  half  centuries  of  growth  in  the  New 
World,  of  the  principles  of  the  Teutonic-American 
race,  represented  by  the  United  States,  over  those  of 
the  Roman-American  race,  represented  by  Spain. 
And  this  triumph  was  the  triumph  of  liberty  over 
despotism. 

When  gold  was  discovered  in  1848,  and  people  rapidly 
rushed  into  California,  the  old  monastic  centers  were 
destroyed  and  the  Indians  scattered.  Even  those 
Indians  who  had  learned  to  farm,  and  owned  land  of 
their  own,  were  driven  away,  often  unjustly,  and  the  land 


SPANISH    IDEAS    IN   AiMERICA  405 

was  taken  by  the  whites.  Thus  did  the  last  living  traces 
of  Spanish  civilization  disappear  from  the  boundaries  of 
the  United  States,  overrun  by  the  stronger,  freer  life, 
which,  in  its  onward  march,  was  ever  hungry  for  more 
land  upon  which  to  establish  the  free  institutions  which 
it  had  been  developing  and  strengthening  for  a  thousand 
years. 

Four  hundred  and  six  years  after  Spain  gained  her  first 
colony  (1898)  Porto  Rico,  Cuba  and  the  Philippines  (the 
last  colonies  in  the  world  still  remaining  to  Spain)  were 
freed  from  oppression  through  the  assistance  of  the 
United  States,  and  are  now  rapidly  taking  on  new  life 
and  new  hope  through  the  freer  schools,  free  govern- 
ment and  new  industries  which  spring  up  within  their 
midst,  when  guided  by  the  Teutonic  hand,  almost  as 
quickly  and  abundantly  as  does  the  vegetation  from 
their  exhaustless   soil. 

Thus  have  we  seen  the  Spanish  nation  conquer  and 
explore  a  vast  territory  in  a  mad  rush  for  gold.  We 
have  seen  her  extend  an  arbitrary  but  loose  government 
over  such  an  extent  of  territory  as  to  make  her  the 
greatest  power  in  Europe  in  the  sixteenth  century.  At 
the  end  of  the  nineteenth  every  foot  of  this  territory  has 
either  torn  itself  away  or  been  torn  from  her  by  another, 
and  Spain,  from  being  the  greatest  power  in  the  world, 
has  fallen  to  be  one  of  the  weakest.  And  why  was  this  ? 
Because  when  Spain  had  a  chance  to  stand  for  freedom 
she  stood  for  oppression.  When  she  had  a  chance  to 
plant  the  New  World  with  new  thought,  she  turned  her 
face  backward  and  sought  to  plant  it  with  the  seeds  of 
the  Middle  Ages.  The  parliament,  the  printing  press, 
the  free  school,  free  labor  and  free  discussion  are  the 


406  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

mighty  forces  which  move  modern  civilization.  Spain 
gave  none  of  these  to  America,  hence  her  ideas  and 
institutions  here  weakened  and  died. 

A  nation  is  like  a  tree,  —  in  order  to  live  it  must  con- 
tinually grow  ;  and  modern  nations  in  order  to  live  must 
grow  on  the  sap  of  freedom  —  not  freedom  for  the  feiv 
but  .freedom  for  all.  Spain  lost  this  sap,  both  in  the 
trunk  at  home  and  in  the  spreading  colonial  branches. 
The  result  has  been  decay  in  the  trunk  and  complete 
loss  of  the  branches. 

References 

Blackmar :   Spanish  Institutions  of  the  Southwest ;  Johns  Hopkins 

Press,  Baltimore. 
Moses :    Establishment   of  Spanish    Rule   in   America ;    Putnam's 

Sons,  N.Y. 
John  Fiske  :   Discovery  of  America,  Vol.  I ;  Houghton,  Mifflin  & 

Co.,  N.Y. 
Fisher :  The  Colonial  Era ;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 
Winsor  :    Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America,  Vols.  I  and 

II ;  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Hubert  Bancroft :  History  of  Central  America,  History  of  Mexico, 

History  of  California ;  Harper  &  Brothers,  N.Y. 
Fernald  :  The  Spaniards  in  History  ;  Funk  &  Wagnalls,  N.Y. 
Lummis:  The  Spanish  Pioneer;  McClurg  &  Co.,  Chicago. 
Thwaites  :  The  Colonies  ;  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Kemp :  Outlines  of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools ;  Ginn 

&  Co.,  Boston. 
Study  the  biographies  of  Philip  II,  Philip  III,  Cortez,  Pizarro,  De 

Soto,  Loyola,  Bolivar,  Monroe  (in  connection   with   Monroe 

Doctrine) . 


THE  CHIEF  IDEAS   DEVELOPED   IN  AMER- 
ICA  BY   THE   FRENCH    COLONISTS 

For  more  than  a  hundred  years  after  Columbus  dis- 
covered America,  France  had  made  no  permanent  set- 
tlement on  the  American  continent.  But  with  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  she  began  in 
earnest  to  make  settlements,  first  in  Nova  Scotia 
(1604),  then  on  the  St.  Lawrence  River  at  Quebec 
(1608)  and  at  Montreal  (161 1).  From  this  time  for- 
ward, for  the  next  century  and  a  half,  French  ex- 
plorers, as  brave  and  daring  as  any  that  ever  visited 
America,  made  their  way  up  the  eastward-flowing  rivers, 
such  as  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Ottawa,  thence  over 
the  lakes  to  the  west  as  far  as  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
thence  down  the  southward-flowing  rivers  till  they  came 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  Thus,  in  a  century  and 
a  half  from  her  first  permanent  settlement  in  America, 
that  is,  from  about  1600  down  to  1750,  France  had 
discovered,  explored,  taken  possession  of  and  settled 
by  a  line  of  thinly  scattered  posts,  the  regions  stretch- 
ing from  the  snow-fields  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence to  the  canebrakes  in  Louisiana.  France  thus 
controlled  the  finest  natural  roadway — the  St.  Law- 
rence and  the  lakes  —  leading  into  the  heart  of  the 
continent  from  the  Atlantic  coast;  and  she  likewise 
claimed    the    Mississippi   Valley,    with   its   great   river 

407 


408  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

giving  an  easy  entrance  into  the  heart  of  the  country 
from  the  south. 

No  people,  perhaps,  ever  had  a  better  opportunity  to 
found  and  build  a  great  nation  than  the  French  had 
in  North  America.  The  soil,  especially  in  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley,  was  very  rich,  the  climate  upon  the  whole 
temperate,  the  rainfall  abundant.  It  is  true,  the  climate 
in  the  St.  Lawrence  Valley  is  not  so  favorable,  the 
winters  being  long  and  severe,  locking  the  country  in 
ice  for  five  months  in  the  year,  and  making  it  difficult 
and  expensive  to  raise  domestic  animals.  It  is  too  cold 
for  growing  corn  and  pumpkins,  as  can  be  done  most 
successfully  in  the  English  colonies,  —  for  example,  in 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania.  Tobacco,  which  soon' 
gave  wealth  and  independence  to  the  Virginia  planter, 
could  not  be  grown  successfully  on  the  St.  Law- 
rence. The  river  likewise  had  rapids  and  cataracts 
in  it  over  which  boats  could  not  pass,  which,  together 
with  the  fact  that  it  was  frozen  over  half  of  the  year, 
tended  to  lessen  the  value  of  the  St.  Lawrence  as  a 
roadway  for  commerce.  The  lakes  also  were  stormy 
and  had  but  a  small  number  of  good  harbors.  But  not- 
withstanding these  drawbacks  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  French  territory,  the  French  soon  passed  from  the 
St.  Lawrence  to  the  great  central  valley,  where  stretched 
for  three  thousand  miles  through  the  heart  of  the  conti- 
nent the  noble  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  which  offered 
a  seat  for  a  vast  and  wealthy  empire,  had  France  only 
been  able  to  take  advantage  of  her  opportunity.  Why 
was  she  not  able  to  do  so  ?  The  answer  lies  in  the  fact 
that  the  ideas  and  institutions  which  France  brought  to 
America  and  planted  here  were  not  such  as  to  make  a 


THE   FRENCH  COLONIST  IN   AMERICA         409 

strong,  self-reliant  and  independent  nation.  Let  us  see 
what  these  ideas  and  institutions  were. 

France's  chief  motives  in  coming  to  America  were 
three:  (1)  to  trade  in  furs;  (2)  to  convert  the  Indians; 
(3)  to  build  up  a  government  on  the  model  of  the  one 
then  existing  at  home  —  that  is,  one  in  which  the  king 
could  do  whatever  he  chose  without  consulting  the 
people  about  it.  Such  a  government  is  called  an  abso- 
lute monarchy. 

The  region  in  which  France  settled  was  well  adapted 
to  the  fur  trade;  beaver,  mink,  raccoon  and  wolf  were 
plentiful  in  the  woods,  and  throughout  the  seventeenth 
and  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  centuries  trading-posts, 
where  furs  were  brought  in  from  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try by  both  the  Indian  and  the  white  trappers,  were  scat- 
tered thinly  along  the  river  banks  and  lakes.  From 
these  interior  posts  the  furrier  carried  his  load  by 
boat,  canoes  and  pack  animals  back  to  the  Atlantic 
seacoast  and  shipped  them  to  Europe,  where  they 
were  used  as  clothing  by  the  wealthy  classes.  Now, 
in  order  to  develop  a  large  business  in  fur-trading,  it 
was  necessary  for  the  French  to  cultivate  the  friendship 
of  the  Indians,  who  were  good  hunters  and  trappers, 
and  also  to  leave  the  woods  standing,  since  they  were 
the  home  of  the  animals.  Both  of  these  were  carefully 
done.  The  Frenchmen,  in  large  measure,  became  chil- 
dren of  the  woods,  the  rivers  and  the  plains,  dressing 
and  living  in  many  cases  much  as  the  natives  did. 
They  cut  down  but  little  of  the  forests,  which  tended 
to  secure  the  lasting  friendship  of  the  Indian,  as  it  left 
him  an  excellent  hunting-ground. 

Thus,  when  the  decisive  conflict  came  on  between  the 


410  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

French  and  the  English  for  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
Valleys,  in  1 754-1 763,  the  Indians  were  generally  on  the 
side  of  the  French,  and  gave  them  valuable  assistance 
in  their  final  conflict  with  the  English.  But  we  should 
be  mistaken  if  we  supposed  that  none  of  the  French 
colonists  living  in  New  France  lived  a  settled  life. 
Along  the  St.  Lawrence  Valley,  the  lakes,  and  at  the 
most  favorable  points  of  trade  on  the  Ohio,  Wabash, 
and  Mississippi,  permanent  settlements  gradually  grew 
up  and  the  people  carried  on  in  a  way  other  occu- 
pations besides  hunting  and  fishing.  Let  us  take  a 
general  view  of  this  life.  We  may  take  Quebec  as  a 
typical  French  colony,  and  having  obtained  a  view  of 
it  we  shall  know  pretty  well  how  French  colonial  life 
was  in  all  the  settlements,  for  the  life  in  all  was  essen- 
tially the  same. 

Could  we  have  paddled  up  the  St.  Lawrence  toward 
Quebec  in  a  birch-bark  canoe  any  time,  say  from  1700 
to  1750,  we  would  have  seen  along  the  banks  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  an  old-fashioned  civilization  reminding 
us  in  many  ways  of  feudalism.  The  streams  were 
mainly  the  roadways  in  those  days,  and  birch-bark 
canoes  were  their  means  of  travel.  As  we  approached 
Quebec  we  would  have  seen  on  either  bank  of  the  river 
and  somewhat  equally  distant  from  each  other  the 
dwellings  of  the  seigniors.  This  was  the  title  given  to 
the  French  nobles  and  officers  among  whom  the  Cana- 
dian land  was  divided  by  the  king.  The  land  was 
always  divided  into  strips  fronting  on  the  river  and 
extending  back  to  the  uplands.  These  narrow  strips, 
with  the  many-colored  vegetation  upon  them,  would,  in 
the  spring  and  summer  time,  look  much  like  broad  rib- 


THE   FRENCH    COLONIST   IN   AMERICA  411 

bons,  running  side  by  side  stretching  back  into  the 
country  from  the  bank  of  the  river  to  the  depth  of 
the  forest.  Scattered  about  over  these  tracts  of  land 
we  would  have  seen  a  few  huts.  These  were  the  homes 
of  the  servants,  or  habitants,  as  they  were  generally 
called. 

When  the  king  in  feudal  fashion  gave  a  piece  of 
territory  to  the  seignior  he  required  that  a  certain  part 
of  it  be  cleared  and  tilled.  The  seignior  did  not  gen- 
erally clear  and  cultivate  this  himself,  but  divided  most 
of  it  among  the  habitants ;  they,  in  turn,  becoming  the 
real  cultivators  but  not  the  owners  of  the  soil.  The 
seignior  in  taking  possession  of  his  land  was  required  to 
swear  allegiance  to  the  king;  and  likewise  the  habitant 
was  required  to  perform  a  ceremony  of  homage  to  the 
seignior  before  taking  possession  of  his  little  farm. 
You  see  this  is  very  different  from  the  way  it  is  in  the 
United  States,  where  the  farmer  generally  owns  the 
land  he  cultivates,  and  because  he  owns  it  takes  a  pride 
in  improving  it  from  year  to  year.  Each  habitant  in 
the  French  colony  was  required  to  make  an  annual  pay- 
ment to  the  seignior  for  the  land  which  he  cultivated, 
in  money  or  produce,  or  in  both.  A  common  charge 
was  a  cent  in  money,  and  half  a  pint  of  wheat  per  year, 
for  each  five-eighths  of  an  acre.  Sometimes  payment 
was  made  in  chickens  and  eggs.  Payments  were  usu- 
ally made  on  St.  Martin's  day,  when  all  of  the  tenants 
mustered  at  the  dwelling  of  the  seignior.  The  barn- 
yard of  the  seignior  on  that  day  presented  a  lively  and 
novel  appearance  when  all  the  habitants,  rich  and  poor, 
living  on  the  farm,  were  gathered  there  with  wheat, 
barley,  swine,  cattle,  poultry,  eggs  and  apples  to  pay 


412  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

the  rent  to  their  lord.  Thus  the  agriculture,  such  as  it 
was,  which  developed  in  the  St.  Lawrence  Valley  was, 
in  all  essentials,  a  feeble  imitation  of  European  feudal- 
ism, which  we  studied  in  the  fifth  grade.  And  feudal- 
ism, as  we  then  found,  gave  privileges,  comforts  and 
luxuries  to  the  few,  but  imposed  a  hard  and  slavish  life 
upon  the  many. 

The  houses  of  the  habitants,  generally  built  on  the 
river  banks,  were  small  cabins  with  wide  overhanging 
eaves,  and  consisted  of  two  rooms.  The  partition  be- 
tween the  two  rooms  was  usually  made  of  boards. 
Wooden  boxes  and  benches  oftentimes  took  the  place 
of  chairs.  In  one  corner  of  the  main  room  stood  a 
heavy  loom,  on  which  the  women  wove  the  homespuns 
of  wool  and  flax  which  clothed  the  family.  On  account 
of  the  severe  winters,  the  walls  of  the  huts  were  thick, 
and  generally  comfortable.  At  one  end  of  the  room 
was  a  huge  fireplace,  across  which  extended  the  long 
black  arms  of  a  crane.  The  crane  consisted  of  an  iron 
bar  reaching  from  the  side  of  the  fireplace  halfway 
across  or  more.  On  this  bar  the  cooking  vessels  were 
hung  and  the  cooking  done  for  the  family. 

The  dwelling  of  a  seignior  was  of  course  usually  a 
much  larger  and  more  comfortable  building  than  that 
of  the  habitant.  The  main  part  of  it  was  but  one  story 
in  height,  but  perhaps  a  hundred  feet  long.  It  had  lofty 
gables  and  a  steep  roof,  being  built  in  this  way  in  order 
to  shed  the  snow  and  to  give  a  large  room  in  the  attic 
for  bedchambers.  Carpets  were  not  known  in  them,  but 
there  were  sometimes  mats  woven  by  the  Indians.  Near 
by  the  main  building  were  the  washhouse,  barns,  stables 
and  sheds.     Close  by  also  was  the  circular  stone  mill, 


THE   FRENCH   COLONIST   IN   AMERICA         413 

owned  by  the  seignior,  where  the  habitants  were  re- 
quired to  grind  their  grain  and  give  the  seignior  a  four- 
teenth part  as  toll  for  the  grinding. 

Each  seignior  was  supposed  to  erect  a  chapel  on  his 
great  farm,  where  religious  services  should  be  held;  but 
as  many  of  them  were  not  able  to  build  one  and  as  many 
of  the  habitants  preferred  rather  to  run  the  woods  after 
beavers  than  to  attend  church,  this  requirement  of  the 
king  was  never  strictly  enforced.  Those  who  had  no 
chapel  on  their  places  were  usually  required,  however, 
to  help  in  the  construction  of  a  church  at  some  village 
near  by,  either  by  donating  material  or  labor. 

Thus  you  see  that  when  the  Frenchman  did  take  up 
other  ways  of  life  than  that  of  wandering  through  the 
forests  for  furs,  he  adopted  largely  the  mediaeval  ways 
of  living.  A  few  men  of  the  upper  classes  owned  the 
land,  while  those  who  settled  upon  it  and  tended  the 
soil  stood  generally  in  the  place  of  the  lower  vassals,  or 
serfs,  of  the  Middle  Ages,  who,  having  no  permanent 
interest  in  the  soil,  became  either  inhabitants  of  the 
woods,  or  led  a  careless,  happy-go-lucky  life  in  some 
feudal  cabin,  caring  little  for  the  morrow,  and  finding 
plenty  of  time  for  the  violin,  the  song,  the  game  and 
the  dance.  When  we  come  to  study  the  English  colon- 
ists who  settled  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  look  at  the 
institutions  they  set  up  there,  we  shall  see  that  they  had 
all  but  outgrown  the  ideas  of  the  Middle  Ages.  There 
the  general  rule  was  for  each  man  to  own  and  till  the 
farm  he  lived  on ;  and  this  fact  made  a  vast  difference  in 
the  property  he  was  able  to  accumulate,  in  the  feeling 
of  independence  which  he  came  to  have,  and  the  inter- 
est he  took  in  maintaining  the  rights  and  liberties  of 


414  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

the  country  when  these  were  in  danger  of  being  taken 
away. 

The  mass  of  the  people  about  Quebec  were  unedu- 
cated. There  was  not  a  public  school  set  up  in  the 
French  possessions  from  the  day  France  founded  her 
first  colony  at  Quebec  in  1608  till  her  power  in  America 
fell  by  Wolfe's  conquest  of  Quebec  in  1759.  The  seign- 
iors brought  what  few  books  they  read  from  Europe, 
and  as  for  the  habitants,  they  generally  cared  nothing 
for  either  books  or  newspapers,  and  for  that  matter 
could  not  read.  The  leading  object  of  education  in 
New  France  was  a  religious  one.  The  course  of  study 
was  first  intended  to  serve  the  church,  second,  to  make 
obedient  and  unquestioning  servants  of  the  king. 

But  the  second  great  purpose  for  which  France  came 
to  America  was  the  conversion  of  the  Indians.  Brave 
and  self-sacrificing  priests  tramped  through  the  vast 
western  wildernesses,  setting  up  the  cross  at  favorable 
places,  and  giving  up  their  lives,  if  need  be,  to  convert 
the  savages  to  Christianity.  Here  again  there  was  a 
great  difference  between  the  policy  of  the  French  and 
that  of  the  English  in  the  New  World,  in  develop- 
ing and  encouraging  free  religious  worship.  Among 
the  English  colonists  were  Congregationalists,  Baptists, 
Lutherans,  Moravians,  Presbyterians,  Huguenots,  Cath- 
olics, Methodists,  Jews,  Episcopalians  and  Quakers,  all 
learning  to  work  together,  but  in  New  France  one  reli- 
gious faith  only  was  allowed.  Huguenots  were  excluded 
from  the  French  colonies  in  1685  as  heretics,  and  Louis 
XIV  by  thus  excluding  them  from  his  empire  beyond 
the  sea  destroyed  his  strongest  support  and  the  most 
fruitful  means  of  increasing  the  population  of  his  empire 


THE    FRENCH    COLONIST    IN    AMERICA  415 

in  the  New  World;  for  it  was  they  who  at  this  time 
constituted  the  most  intelligent,  most  industrious  and 
most  loyal  class  of  the  French  people  —  whether  at 
home  or  in  the  colonies. 

The  clergy  in  Canada,  as  in  mediaeval  times  in  Eu- 
rope, was  very  powerful  in  matters  of  government.  At 
the  head  of  the  Church  was  a  bishop,  who  lived  at 
Quebec.  Parishes  were  scattered  about,  with  a  priest 
at  the  head  of  each.  All  church  officers  were  chosen, 
not  by  the  people,  but  by  the  bishop.  This  again  is 
the  opposite  of  the  tendency  in  the  English  colonies, 
where  the  church  officers,  as  well  as  the  beliefs  of 
the  Church,  were  growing  more  and  more  to  be  con- 
trolled by  the  people.  But  notwithstanding  these  de- 
fects, the  Church  was  perhaps  the  best  institution  that 
the  French  brought  to  America.  It  was  the  only 
source  of  education  for  the  scattered  and  unsettled 
population ;  and  while  the  government  was  despotic, 
corrupt  and  constantly  undergoing  change,  the  Church 
remained  settled,  and  produced  not  a  few  brave  men, 
who  went  through  great  sacrifices  to  elevate  the  rude 
and  savage  life,  and  became  parents  to  the  children 
growing  up  in  ignorance  in  the  American  woods. 

The  third  motive  which  brought  France  to  the  New 
World  was  to  establish  a  great  empire  here.  Louis  the 
XIV,  who  ruled  France  during  the  greater  part  of  the 
seventeenth  century  and  first  of  the  eighteenth,  1643- 
171 5,  dreamed  as  Spain  had  before  of  great  colonial 
possessions  in  America.  Louis'  dream  was  that  of  a 
mighty  colonial  empire  stretching  through  the  heart 
of  the  continent  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  from  the  Appalachian  Mountains 


416  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

to  the  Rockies,  in  which  he  should  be  absolute  ruler. 
We  must  now  see  some  of  the  more  important  details 
of  the  government  which  he  established  in  America. 

At  the  head  of  the  government  of  the  colony  was  a 
governor  appointed  by  the  king.  Close  by  his  side  was 
the  royal  intendant,  also  appointed  by  the  king.  He 
was  the  king's  agent  in  the  colonies,  and  served  as  a 
check  and  spy  on  the  governor.  The  governor,  how- 
ever, was  superior  in  rank  to  the  intendant,  the  troops 
being  under  his  command.  If,  for  example,  a  dispute 
arose  between  the  colony  at  Quebec  and  some  colony  in 
New  England,  a  very  frequent  occurrence  indeed,  the 
governor  had  chief  command  of  the  army,  and  was 
intrusted  with  the  work  of  settling  the  difficulty.  Cere- 
monies of  homage  were  also  performed  before  the 
governor.  The  intendant  was  required  to  make  a  report 
to  the  king  each  year  of  the  things  done  by  the  gover- 
nor, and  of  every  important  detail  of  life  which  took 
place  throughout  New  France  during  the  year;  and 
these  reports  to  the  king  were  a  source  of  so  great 
annoyance  to  the  governor  that  he  and  the  intendant 
lived  such  a  cat-and-dog  life  most  of  the  time  that  the 
king  was  continually  engaged  in  trying  to  pacify  them 
and  quite  frequently  had  to  recall  either  the  one  or  the 
other  to  France. 

The  control  of  the  colony  was  thus  completely  in  the 
hands  of  the  governor,  the  intendant,  and  the  supreme 
council.  They  made  the  laws,  saw  that  they  were  exe- 
cuted, and  acted  as  judges  in  legal  matters.  The  council 
at  first  consisted  of  the  governor,  the  intendant,  the 
bishop  and  five  councilors ;  the  latter  chosen,  not  by 
the  people,  as  was  generally  the  case  in  the   English 


THE    FRENCH    COLONIST   IN   AMERICA  417 

colonies,  but  by  the  governor,  intendant  and  bishop. 
The  choosing  of  the  councilors  was  a  source  of  many 
quarrels ;  so  much  so  that  after  a  while  they  came 
to  be  chosen  by  the  king.  The  number  increased  to 
twelve  in  1703.  The  councilors  were  rarely  changed, 
and  generally  held  office  for  life. 

The  council  had  its  attorney-general,  who  heard  com- 
plaints, and  brought  them  before  the  court  if  he  thought 
necessary.  There  was  a  judge  appointed  by  the  king 
for  each  of  the  three  districts  into  which  Canada  was 
divided,  but  these  were  under  the  control  of  the  gov- 
ernor general  at  Quebec.  Like  the  lords  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  the  seigniors  were  given  the  power  to  decide 
certain  minor  cases  between  their  habitants.  They 
decided  cases  which  did  not  involve  more  than  sixty 
cents.  Added  to  these  courts  was  the  bishop's  court 
at  Quebec,  which  tried  cases  which  arose  in  the  prov- 
ince of  the  Church. 

If  we  could  have  visited  the  governor's  dwelling  at 
Quebec  on  any  Monday  morning,  we  would  have  found 
the  council  in  session  in  the  antechamber.  The  members 
sat  at  a  round  table.  At  the  head  was  the  governor,  with 
the  bishop  on  his  right  and  the  intendant  on  his  left. 
The  councilors  sat  at  the  lower  end  of  the  table  in  the 
order  of  their  appointment;  the  attorney-general  also 
had  his  place  at  the  board  as  the  council's  legal  adviser. 
This  handful  of  legislators,  only  sixteen  at  most,  is  a 
very  different  legislative  body  in  manner  of  election, 
number  composing  it,  class  of  people  from  which  they 
were  chosen,  and  power  to  act  freely  and  independently, 
from  the  legislative  assemblies  which  grew  up  in  the 
English  colonies.      Usually    the  council  did  not  work 


418  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

very  smoothly.  The  governor,  the  intendant  and  the 
bishop  were  often  in  disputes.  The  intendant,  though 
third  in  rank,  presided  at  the  meetings,  took  votes, 
signed  papers  and  called  special  meetings.  He  was 
given  in  some  ways  more  power  than  any  other  official 
in  the  colony,  and  was  constantly  trying  to  increase  his 
power.  He  controlled  the  expenditure  of  public  money, 
had  the  power  to  call  cases  before  himself  for  trial,  and 
the  power  to  issue  ordinances,  whenever  he  thought 
necessary,  which  had  the  force  of  law.  A  great  many 
of  these  ordinances  have  been  preserved  to  the  present 
time.  They  were  usually  read  to  the  people  at  the 
doors  of  the  churches  after  mass,  and  related  to  a  great 
variety  of  subjects,  such  as  the  protection  of  game,  sale 
of  brandy,  caring  for  stray  hogs,  fast  driving,  value  of 
coinage,  weights  and  measures,  building  churches  and 
settlement  of  boundary  lines.  For  instance,  if  the 
officer  who  superintended  the  public  highways  reported 
that  a  new  road  was  wanted,  an  ordinance  of  the  intend- 
ant set  the  whole  neighborhood  to  work  on  it.  Or  in- 
stead of  a  road  it  might  be  a  church.  But  in  every  case, 
instead  of  the  people  managing  the  matter,  it  was  all 
done  by  an  officer  of  the  king. 

Such  is  a  brief  sketch  of  the  government  of  Quebec. 
It  is  a  type  of  the  kind  of  government  which  grew  up 
in  New  France  wherever  government  grew  up  at  all. 
Its  policy  was  to  keep  the  colonists  in  the  condition  of 
children.  There  was  not,  as  you  have  seen,  a  single 
officer  chosen  by  the  people.  All  were  chosen,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  by  the  king.  No  public  meetings 
were  permitted,  no  public  discussion  allowed.  One 
of  the  intendants   expressed   the  whole   French   policy 


THE   FRENCH    COLONIST    IN    AMERICA  419 

when  he  said,  "  It  is  most  important  not  to  let  the 
people  speak  their  minds."  You  can,  no  doubt,  see  a 
great  difference  in  the  training  which  the  people  would 
get  in  being  ruled  by  a  handful  of  officers,  appointed  by 
the  king  and  for  the  king,  as  was  the  case  in  New 
France,  and  being  ruled  by  town-meetings,  as  was  the 
case  in  New  England,  where  practically  all  the  people, 
without  regard  to  wealth  or  class,  met  and  discussed 
freely  their  needs  and  made  laws  governing  every  detail 
of  their  local  affairs.  In  New  France  the  people  were 
absolutely  dependent  upon  the  one  central  power  vested 
in  the  king  across  the  sea.  They  were  never  taught  to 
think  independently  nor  to  do  things  for  themselves. 
Arbitrary  power  always  tends  to  make  those  who  rule 
corrupt  and  selfish  ;  those  who  are  ruled,  ignorant  and 
dependent.  The  colonial  history  of  Canada  is  an  ex- 
cellent example  of  this  result. 

What  is  the  answer,  then,  to  the  question  we  stated 
at  the  beginning  of  our  study  of  the  French :  What 
ideas  did  France  bring  over  and  plant  in  America? 
None  that  were  new  and  full  of  growing  power.  She 
brought  to  America  and  sought  to  plant  in  the  new  soil 
ideas  belonging  to  the  Middle  Age  times.  She  had 
old  ideas  only  for  the  new  soil.  In  industry  she  planted 
feudalism ;  in  education,  schools  for  the  few,  and  those 
controlled  entirely  by  the  church;  in  religion,  the  com- 
plete sway  of  a  single  branch  of  the  Christian  Church ; 
in  government  she  sought  to  plant  in  the  heart  of 
America  the  old  Roman  idea  of  absolute,  despotic 
government,  as  it  was  then  being  carried  forward  by 
the  most  powerful  despot  in  Europe,  —  Louis  XIV. 

In  the  year  1754,  France  tried  to  take  the  last  step 


420  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

in  making  good  her  claim  to  the  heart  of  North  Amer- 
ica, by  seizing  the  forks  of  the  Ohio  River.  By  doing 
this  she  hoped  to  hold  the  Spanish  in  Mexico,  and  the 
English  between  the  Appalachians  and  the  sea.  It  was 
here,  at  the  doorway  of  the  Great  West,  —  the  forks 
of  the  Ohio  Valley,  —  that  the  first  critical  struggle  for 
American  freedom  was  fought.  Free  schools,  free  reli- 
gion, free  industry,  free  government,  were  all  at  stake  in 
the  struggle.  It  was  not  simply  a  contest  for  the  Ohio 
Valley,  nor  even  for  the  great  Mississippi  Valley ;  it 
was  in  its  ultimate  effect  a  struggle  for  the  greater  part 
of  North  America,  reaching  from  ocean  to  ocean.  So 
great  was  the  issue  at  stake,  that  Mr.  Fiske  has  called 
Wolfe's  triumph,  on  the  plains  of  Abraham,  1759,  by 
which  French  power  was  practically  overthrown  in 
America,  the  greatest  turning-point  in  modern  history. 
And  Mr.  Green  regards  the  defeat  of  the  French  at 
Quebec  so  important  in  the  growth  of  our  own  institu- 
tions, that  he  calls  it  the  beginning  of  the  history  of  the 
United  States.  With  the  doorway  open  to  the  west  by 
the  conquest  of  the  French,  the  English  colonists  could 
pass  freely  through  the  Appalachian  Mountain  passes, 
spread  over  the  level  Mississippi  Valley,  and  take  pos- 
session of  the  finest  region  for  developing  a  great  civili- 
zation, all  things  considered,  in  the  world.  This  they 
quickly  did  after  the  French  were  defeated,  and  as  they 
moved  westward  carried  with  them  the  seeds  of  free 
institutions,  which  they  had  been  slowly  maturing  on  the 
coastal  plains  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Appalachians. 
The  final  treaty  by  which  France  surrendered  her  Ameri- 
can possessions  to  England,  at  the  close  of  the  French 
and  Indian  War,  was  in  1763.     All  east  of  the  Missis- 


THE   FRENCH   COLONIST   IN   AMERICA         421 

sippi,  excepting  two  islands  —  Miquelon  and  St.  Pierre 
—  retained  by  the  French  as  fishing  stations,  —  was 
given  to  England;  that  west,  to  Spain.  In  1800 
France  secretly  secured  from  Spain  all  she  had  given 
up  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  for  the  short  period 
of  three  years  Napoleon  dreamed  again  the  dream  of 
the  old  despotic  rulers,  as  he  saw  visions  of  a  great 
French  empire  in  the  heart  of  America.  But  it  was  too 
late  in  the  history  of  freedom  for  this  dream  to  become 
true.  Since  the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  war, 
thirty-seven  years  before,  free  institutions  had  pushed 
rapidly  westward,  and  industrious,  self-reliant  men  were 
demanding  more  room  in  which  to  plant  free  labor, 
free  schools,  free  religion  and  free  states.  So,  in  1803, 
in  order  to  furnish  further  room  for  the  western  pioneer 
to  expand,  and  also  to  give  him  possession  of  the  great- 
est natural  commercial  highway  on  the  continent  —  the 
Mississippi,  —  President  Jefferson  purchased  France's 
possessions  west  of  the  Mississippi  for  fifteen  million 
dollars.  Thus  French  power  and  French  despotism 
finally  disappeared  from  America  a  hundred  and  ninety- 
five  years  after  her  first  permanent  settlement  was  made 
on  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  France  like  Spain  had 
fallen  in  the  New  World  because  she  did  not  know  how 
to  build  therein  institutions  for  the  people,  by  the  people 
and  of  the  people.  Her  institutions  were  built  for  the 
king  and  by  the  king.  America  was  not  the  soil  in 
which  to  plant  the  idea  that  men  and  institutions  exist 
for  rulers,  but  that  rulers  and  institutions  exist  for  men. 
Neither  France  or  Spain  had  borne  to  America  the  new 
agents  of  thought  and  freedom  which  we  saw  developing 
in  Europe  in  the  sixth  grade,  —  the  parliament,  the  print- 


422  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

ing  press,  the  University,  the  public  school,  and  free 
religious  discussion.  If  the  New  World  was  to  be  free 
it  was  fortunate  that  both  France  and  Spain  should  fall 
back  to  the  Old  World  and  give  way  for  the  unham- 
pered development  of  Teutonic  liberties,  represented  at 
first  in  America  by  the  English  Colonies,  and  by  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century  represented  by  the  rapidly 
growing  American  Union. 

References 

Thwaites  :  The  Colonies  ;  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

Hart :  The  Formation  of  the  Union  ;  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

Sloane  :  The  French  and  Revolutionary  War ;  Scribners  Sons,  N.Y. 

Roberts:  A  History  of  Canada;  Lamson,  Wolffe  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

Parkman:  The  Old  Regime  in  Canada;  The  Jesuits  of  North 
America;  Wolfe  &  Montcalm;  Pioneers  of  France  in  New 
World  ;  Little,  Brown  &  Co.,  Boston. 

Kemp  :  Outlines  of  History  for  District  and  Graded  Schools  ;  Ginn 
&  Co.,  Boston. 

Study  the  biographies  of  Champlain,  La  Salle,  Richelieu,  Henry  IV, 
Louis  XIV,  Marquette,  Frontenac,  Montcalm,  Wolfe  and  Na- 
poleon. 


THE   IDEAS   WHICH    THE    ENGLISH    COLO- 
NIES DEVELOPED  IN  AMERICA 

As  we  have  gone  forward  in  our  history  work  from 
grade  to  grade,  we  have,  no  doubt,  come  to  see  and  feel, 
to  some  degree,  that  great  movements  in  history  and  in 
the  lives  of  peoples  are  more  or  less  closely  related  : 
that  they  do  not  begin  suddenly,  without  cause,  and  end 
by  chance,  but  that  every  great  historical  event  is  a 
result  of  what  has  gone  before  and  affects  what  comes 
after.  So  at  present  let  us  look  backward  on  the  long 
warp  and  woof  of  history  the  loom  of  civilization  has 
been  weaving,  gather  up  some  of  the  threads  already 
spun,  and  follow  them  forward  as  they  are  woven  into 
our  own  American  life. 

In  the  Crusades  we  saw  that  the  Europeans  had  their 
thoughts  greatly  widened,  and  learned  much  about 
traveling  by  water  and  how  to  build  better  ships.  This 
led  to  extensive  trade  routes  to  the  East,  and  afterward  to 
Columbus's  epoch-making  trips  to  the  West.  During 
the  century  in  which  Columbus  was  born,  by  the  Renas- 
cence movement,  we  saw  the  European  scholar  enthusi- 
astically take  up  the  art  and  literature  of  Greece  and 
Rome,  and  begin  to  think  for  and  depend  upon  himself. 
Partly  as  a  result  of  this,  many  people  of  Europe  began  to 
demand  greater  individual  freedom  in  religion ;  and  this 
in  turn  led  to  the  Reformation.     Along  with  these  move- 

423 


424  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

mcnts  toward  freer  life,  we  followed  also  the  growth  of 
the  English  Parliament,  and  saw  how,  in  England  more 
than  in  any  other  European  state,  the  people  held  on  to 
their  ancient  Teutonic  rights  and  worked  out  a  system 
of  free  government.  These  germs  of  Teutonic  liberty 
we  saw  were  very  old,  being  born  many  centuries  before 
in  the  German  forests. 

When  Europe's  trade  routes  to  the  East  were  de- 
stroyed by  the  Turks,  during  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
centuries,  the  steps  already  taken  in  travel  and  learning, 
during  the  Crusades  and  the  Renascence,  led  the  better 
scholars  to  say  :  "  The  earth  is  not  flat,  but  round  ;  we 
are  now  able  to  build  large,  strong  ships,  and  know 
much  more  than  formerly  about  water  travel.  Let  us 
sail  west  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  reach  the  East 
by  an  all-water  route."  This  was  the  thought  of  Colum- 
bus, whose  home  was  Genoa,  in  Italy.  Now,  you  will 
remember  that  Genoa  was  one  of  the  Mediterranean 
cities  which  grew  so  rapidly  in  trade  and  travel  during, 
and  just  after,  the  Crusades,  and  also  that  the  Renas- 
cence centered  in  Italy.  So  it  is  not  strange  to  see 
that  Columbus  was  one  of  the  first  to  believe  that  the 
earth  is  round,  and  the  first  to  act  upon  the  thought,  by 
boldly  setting  forth  westward  in  order  to  reach  the  east- 
ern coast  of  Asia.  In  1492,  as  we  have  seen  in  studying 
the  Spanish  colonies,  he  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  Span- 
ish ships,  seeking  a  trade  route  to  the  East.  This, 
however,  was  not  his  only  purpose.  He  wished  to 
Christianize  the  peoples  he  might  find,  as  the  Crusaders 
had  attempted  to  do  with  Mohammedans  and  Turks, 
during  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries.  Thus, 
while  it  had  now  been  two  hundred  years  and  more  since 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA     425 

all  Europe  was  interested  in  the  Crusades,  something  of 
the  crusading  spirit  was  still  living  and  going  on  in  the 
minds  of  the  Spaniards.  Instead,  however,  of  reaching 
eastern  Asia,  Columbus  in  sailing  westward  found  two 
continents  and  many  islands  stretching  across  his  path. 
Thus  our  own  country  was  discovered.  Soon  wonder- 
ful stories  were  spread  by  the  printing  press  thoughout 
Europe  of  the  newly  discovered  lands,  and  all  of  the 
leading  countries  hastened  to  send  out  men  to  explore 
them.  All  the  nations  of  western  Europe  laid  claim 
to  portions  of  America,  and  the  rule  grew  up  that 
whoever  first  settled  a  country  should  have  a  right  to 
hold  it. 

The  leading  countries  of  Europe  which  made  explora- 
tions in  the  great  new  West  were  Spain,  France  and 
England.  Other  countries,  as  Holland  and  Sweden, 
also  explored  and  claimed  portions  on  the  Atlantic 
coast ;  but  their  claims  were  soon  overrun  and  swallowed 
up  by  the  English  settlements,  and  we  will,  therefore, 
only  glance  at  them  as  we  study  the  growth  of  the  Eng- 
lish colonies.  Before  passing  the  efforts  of  Spain  and 
France,  however,  in  the  New  World,  let  us  again  call  to 
mind  where  they  attempted  to  locate.  Spain  claimed 
the  southern  part  of  North  America,  as  far  north  as 
Florida.  And,  as  we  have  already  seen  in  the  study  of 
the  Spanish  colonies,  during  the  sixteenth,  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries  warriors,  priests  and  miners 
scattered  over  Mexico  and  Central  and  South  America. 
France  sailed  up  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  and  explored 
the  Lake  regions,  and,  pushing  down  the  Mississippi, 
laid  claim  not  only  to  what  is  now  Canada,  but  to  the 
entire  Mississippi  Valley.     This  left  to  England  the  ter- 


426  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

ritory  between  Florida  and  the  St.  Lawrence  Valley, 
extending  inland  to  the  Appalachian  Mountains. 

This  region  claimed  by  the  English  is  one  of  the 
finest  portions  of  the  North  American  continent,  having 
a  fine  soil  and  lying  as  it  does  in  the  temperate  zone. 
It  consists  first  of  a  plain  stretching  from  northern 
Maine  to  Florida,  about  forty  miles  in  width  in  the  north 
and  increasing  toward  the  south  to  a  width  of  nearly  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles.  From  this  plain  gradually 
rises,  on  the  west,  an  undulating  slope  which  stretches 
to  the  foothills  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains.  The 
Appalachians,  though  not  very  high,  were  in  colonial 
times  heavily  wooded  with  forests  and  thorny  under- 
growth and,  having  but  few  good  passes  in  them, 
tended  to  keep  the  English  from  scattering  toward 
the  west,  as  was  the  case  with  both  the  Spaniards  and 
the  French.  But  from  north  to  south;  throughout  the 
Atlantic  slope,  communication  was  comparatively  easy, 
and  this  made  it  possible  for  all  the  English  colonies  to 
grow  gradually  into  a  single  compact  life,  commercially, 
socially  and  politically.  Thus  you  see  that  though  they 
were  prevented  from  extending  the  roots  of  their  institu- 
tions very  rapidly  toward  the  west,  they  planted  them 
all  the  more  deeply  on  the  Atlantic  slope,  and  thus 
were  able  to  develop  a  firmer,  hardier  life  for  the  con- 
flicts which  they  would  meet  with  —  forest,  beast  and 
man  —  as  they  spread  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 

In  studying  the  Reformation  we  saw  how  the  Church 
of  England  became  divided  into  sects  having  different 
beliefs,  and  that  many  Englishmen  were  persecuted  and 
thrown  into  prison  because  they  dissented  from  views 
held  by  the  Established  Church.     A  small  band  of  these 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA     427 

liberty-loving  people,  after  wandering  from  England  to 
Holland,  where  they  lived  for  twelve  or  thirteen  years, 
at  last  decided  to  come  to  America.  They  hoped  to  find 
in  the  New  World  a  home  where  they  could  enjoy  the 
freedom  in  religion  which  was  denied  them  in  their 
parent  land.  So  in  1620,  after  a  stormy  voyage  across 
the  Atlantic,  the  Mayflower  landed  on  the  coast  of  Cape 
Cod  Bay,  carrying  about  one  hundred  men  and  women 
looking  for  a  home  and  a  spot  in  which  to  plant  the 
germ  of  freedom.  Some  were  farmers,  some  mechanics. 
All  of  them  were  "plain  people"  and  all  were  used  to 
work.  They  were  Separatists  from  the  English  Church, 
exiles  from  their  native  land,  and  they  had  come  as  fam- 
ilies to  tame  the  wilderness  and  establish  therein  their 
permanent  home.  Before  landing  they  met  in  the  cabin 
of  their  ship,  formed  and  signed  an  agreement,  called 
the  "  Mayflower  "  Compact,  promising  to  live  together 
under  laws  which  would  be  best  for  all  of  them  and 
bring  peace  and  growth  to  their  settlement.  With  this 
their  first  Constitution  made,  they  stepped  from  the 
wild  sea  to  the  wild  land  and  began  to  make  a  way  into 
the  wilderness  over  the  dead  bodies  of  many  of  their 
little  company,  and  against  thickets,  wolves  and  Indians. 
Being  poor,  they  had  borrowed  money  from  London 
capitalists  to  come  on,  and  had  first  to  earn  sufficient 
to  pay  this  back,  with  interest  at  forty  to  fifty  per  cent, 
before  a  surplus  for  themselves  could  be  begun.  In 
all  our  studies  thus  far  we  have  come  to  know  the 
Anglo-Saxon  people  as  brave  in  overcoming  difficulties, 
and  this  little  band  of  wanderers  (or  Pilgrims,  as  they 
have  come  to  be  called),  in  fighting  the  snow,  Indians  and 
death  in  the  New  World  were  as  brave  as  any  who  had 


428  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

fought  the  despotism  of  the  king  in  the  Old.  The 
settlement  grew  very  slowly,  but  in  time  they  improved 
both  their  homes  and  the  healthfulness  of  the  place  and 
began  steadily  to  increase.  Then  they  began  to  be 
joined  by  others  who,  like  themselves,  were  seeking  free 
homes  and  opportunities  for  free  worship. 

In  observing  this  early  Pilgrim  settlement  there  are 
many  features  which  are  very  different  from  what  would 
have  been  seen  in  either  the  French  or  Spanish  colonies 
in  America.  The  English  colonists  came  of  themselves, 
rather  than  being  sent  by  the  king,  as  was  always  the 
case  with  the  French  and  Spanish.  They  did  not  come 
for  furs  or  gold,  but  to  plant  permanent  homes  and  to 
secure  a  place  for  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion ; 
they  formed  their  first  constitution  themselves  (the  May- 
flower Compact)  instead  of  having  it  formed  for  them 
by  the  home  government ;  they  themselves  elected  their 
own  officers  from  the  colonists  instead  of  having  them 
sent  to  them  from  the  home  country. 

While  these  Separatist  settlers  were  struggling  for  a 
start  in  the  New  World,  many  English  Puritans  who 
still  remained  in  the  Established  Church  were  growing 
tired  of  being  restricted  in  their  worship  by  the  English 
king,  and  hearing  that  the  settlers  in  New  England  were 
prospering,  they  naturally  turned  toward  America. 
Thus  in  a  short  time  began  a  period  of  rapid  settle- 
ment. In  1628  Salem  was  settled  by  a  party  of  Eng- 
lish Puritans,  and  in  the  same  year  the  Massachusetts 
settlers  were  granted  a  charter  by  the  king.  In  1630  a 
fine,  large-hearted  Puritan,  John  Winthrop,  who  was 
Governor  of  the  Massachusetts  Company  in  England, 
came  to  America,  bringing  a  large  number  of  colonists 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA    429 

with  him,  who  settled  at  Boston.  This  Puritan  immigra- 
tion grew  rapidly  till  1640  (when  better  conditions 
were  secured  for  them  in  England),  and  gradually  the 
entire  coast  of  New  England  became  inhabited,  almost 
entirely  by  Englishmen.  As  more  settlers  came,  popu- 
lation slowly  pushed  inland;  and  in  1636  some  of  the 
freer  spirits,  searching  for  better  lands,  migrated  west- 
ward through  the  forests  to  the  fine  Connecticut  Valley. 
They  were  soon  followed  by  many  others,  who  made  the 
settlements  of  Windsor,  Weathersfield  and  Hartford.  In 
1638  New  Haven  was  settled,  and  later  these  western 
settlements  on  the  Connecticut  River  were  united  in  the 
colony  of  Connecticut. 

In  1636  trouble  arose  in  the  Massachusetts  colony, 
because  of  the  preaching  of  Roger  Williams  of  Salem. 
Besides  declaring  that  the  settlers  in  Massachusetts  had 
no  right  to  the  land  unless  they  first  bought  it  from  the 
Indians,  he  said  no  state  officer  had  a  right  to  compel 
one  to  worship  according  to  a  particular  religious 
opinion.  He  declared  that  every  one  should  be  allowed 
to  worship  as  his  conscience  told  him  was  right.  This 
idea,  as  you  see,  was  the  ripening  fruit  of  the  germ  of 
free  worship  planted  by  the  Reformation.  Now  these 
colonists  had  come  to  America  and  suffered  many  hard- 
ships in  order  to  live  in  peace  and  enjoy  freedom  of 
worship  for  themselves  ;  but  here  was  a  man  who,  as 
they  thought,  would  overturn  the  cause  they  had  sacri- 
ficed so  much  to  establish,  so  they  ordered  him  back 
to  England.  Instead  of  going  back  he  escaped  into 
the  wilderness,  and,  with  a  few  followers,  made  his 
way  to  Narragansett  Bay,  where  he  purchased  land 
of  the  Indians,  and  began  a  little  settlement  which  he 


430  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

called  Providence.  He  was  soon  followed  there  by 
more  of  his  sympathizers,  and  when  the  settlement  had 
grown  larger  Williams  got  a  charter  from  the  king. 
Thus  the  colony  of  Rhode  Island  was  founded  (1636), 
and  grew  up  upon  such  principles  of  religious  freedom 
that  the  voice  of  Williams  was  like  that  of  John  Baptist, 
crying  aloud  in  the  wilderness  for  a  better  way.  And  the 
way  has  grown  better  from  his  day  to  the  present  hour. 

So  far,  we  have  merely  mentioned  the  time  and  a  very 
few  facts  concerning  the  settlement  of  New  England. 
Desire  for  freedom,  both  political  and  religious,  was  the 
underlying  cause  in  each  case,  and  this  movement  for 
wider  liberties  in  the  American  woods  is  only  a  fuller 
fruitage  of  the  ideas  of  liberty  which  we  saw  in  germ 
among  the  early  Teutons  in  the  German  forests,  and 
whose  growth  we  followed  through  the  Middle  Ages  as 
it  manifested  itself  in  the  Renascence,  the  printing 
press,  the  English  Parliament,  the  Reformation,  and  the 
discovery  of  the  New  World. 

To-day  New  England  soil  is  not  very  suitable  for 
farming,  but  it  was  much  less  so  then,  covered  as  it  was 
with  stones  and  forests ;  thus  the  early  settlers  did  not 
live  on  large  farms,  far  apart,  as  they  might  have  done 
if  the  land  had  been  level  and  treeless,  say  like  Illinois  or 
Kansas,  but  they  lived  close  together,  on  small  patches  of 
land.  There  were  other  reasons  also  which  led  to  com- 
pact settlement.  Many  of  them  came  in  small  bands, 
or  groups,  under  the  leadership  of  their  favorite  pastors, 
and  chose  for  religious  reasons  to  live  close  together  so 
that  they  might  easily  attend  church.  We  must  not 
forget  also  that  the  land  they  came  to  was  owned  by  the 
Indians,  who  of  course  objected  to  giving  it  up.     For 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA    431 

this  reason  it  was  necessary  to  keep  close  together  in 
order  to  be  strong  enough  to  protect  themselves  from 
the  savages  in  case  of  attack.  Thus  they  grew  slowly, 
fishing,  hunting,  farming  a  little,  manufacturing  much 
of  what  they  needed  by  hand,  and  trading  some  with 
the  Indians,  from  whom  they  got  furs,  wild  meats,  grains 
and  other  food  supplies.  What  best  shows  their  character 
is  that  they  stayed  through  all  kinds  of  hardships,  stuck 
to  their  undertaking,  and  at  length,  through  their  own 
efforts,  came  to  manage  their  local  affairs  with  hardly 
a  thought  of  being  under  the  control  of  the  king  or  the 
English  government. 

As  already  said,  the  Indians  gave  them  much  concern, 
as  they  were  liable  to  attack  them  at  any  time.  For 
this  reason  the  Puritan  always  went  armed,  whether  at 
work  or  at  church.  Of  course  all  went  to  church ;  no 
one  thought  in  those  days  of  staying  away  without  the 
strongest  of  reasons.  Regularly  each  Sunday  morning, 
the  inhabitants  of  each  settlement  were  called  together, 
often  in  the  smaller  settlements  by  the  beating  of  a 
drum,  at  the  little  log  church,  which  was  always  sur- 
rounded by  a  high  fence  for  protection  against  the 
savages.  In  answer  to  the  call,  could  be  seen  the  stern 
Puritans,  each  with  his  flintlock  gun,  accompanied  by 
his  wife  and  children,  going  to  church.  It  was  these 
brave,  duty-loving  people  who,  believing  they  were  the 
Chosen  People  of  God  like  the  Hebrews  of  old,  were 
planting  the  seeds  of  free  religious  worship  on  the 
bleak  New  England  hillsides.  But  just  as  we  saw 
Luther  and  Calvin  severely  punish  reformers  who 
wished  to  reform  faster  than  they,  so  now  the  Puritans, 
having  found  the  freedom  they  so  much  wished,  could 


432  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

not  so  far  rise  above  the  general  thought  of  their  time 
as  to  extend  the  same  opportunity  to  others,  —  Roger 
Williams  and  the  Quakers,  for  example.  These  they  per- 
secuted and  drove  from  their  homes,  though  they  were 
merely  seeking  to  widen  the  privilege  of  freedom  till 
every  one  should  be  given  the  right  which  both  Pilgrim 
and  Puritan  had  left  home  and  native  land  to  secure. 

But  principles  of  liberty  are  like  century  plants  or 
trees  of  the  forest  —  they  grow  very  slowly.  It  was  so 
in  New  England.  The  Puritan,  having  come  to  Amer- 
ica for  religious  freedom  for  himself,  had  not  enough  at 
first  to  give  to  others,  so,  as  already  said,  when  Roger 
Williams  asserted  the  right  for  every  one,  he  was  driven 
from  the  colony ;  but  only  to  set  up  in  another  corner  of 
New  England,  on  Narragansett  Bay,  a  colony  in  which 
every  one  could  worship  as  his  conscience  dictated. 
This  was  the  first  time  in  all  history  that  a  state  was 
founded  upon  the  principle  of  perfect  religious  freedom. 
It  was  this  step,  with  others  like  it  which  followed  in 
the  English  Colonies,  especially  in  Maryland  and  Penn- 
sylvania, through  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  cen- 
turies, that  enabled  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  to 
make  one  of  its  noblest  provisions :  "  Congress  shall 
make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion, 
or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof."  1 

Now,  having  briefly  examined  the  growth  of  religion 
in  New  England  and  seen  that  the  principle  of  free 
religious  thought  was  slowly  developing  there,  let  us 
look  at  the  ideas  of  government  planted  among  these 
colonies. 

The  different  New  England  colonies  were  governed  in 

1  Const.  U.  S.,  Amendment  I. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA     433 

much  the  same  way.  The  Pilgrims,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  agreed  in  their  compact  on  the  Mayflower  to  rule 
themselves  by  such  laws  as  they  themselves  might  en- 
act. As  they  were  of  the  middle  class  and  practically 
equal  in  rank,  they  had  an  excellent  opportunity  to  es- 
tablish a  government  in  which  there  should  be  no  class 
distinctions  or  titles  of  nobility,  but  in  which  all  should 
have  equal  opportunity  and  stand  upon  the  same  foot- 
ing. This  principle  of  equality  they  immediately  be- 
gan to  set  up  by  refusing  to  establish  any  ranks  of 
nobility  in  the  colonies.  We  have  already  noticed  how 
the  settlements  were  made  up  of  groups  of  people. 
The  territory  covered  by  each  group  naturally  became 
a  district  for  local  government.  In  England  these 
small  divisions  were  called  townships,  or  towns.  They 
were  called  the  same  here,  and  became  the  unit  of  gov- 
ernment. By  unit  of  government  is  meant  the  district 
which  had  a  local  government  of  its  own,  and  from 
which  representatives  were  chosen.  Of  course,  after  a 
short  time  there  were  too  many  people  in  each  colony 
for  all  to  meet  together  to  make  their  laws,  so  the 
voters  selected  representatives  to  meet  in  a  legislature 
to  make  them.  As  we  saw  in  our  study  of  Parliament, 
in  the  sixth  grade,  they  had  been  doing  this  in  England 
ever  since  the  time  of  Simon  de  Montfort,  almost  four 
hundred  years  before ;  and  while  there  was  some  im- 
provement here  over  the  English  system  of  govern- 
ment, we  shall  find  them  in  the  main  following  English 
customs. 

Now  let  us  look  at  the  government  of  the  New  Eng- 
land town  or  township.  It  was  governed  by  a  town- 
meeting  just  as  the  English  town  was  governed  by  a 


434  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

town-moot.  Situated  at  the  center  of  the  township 
was  the  church,  and  near  it  was  the  town  pasture,  or 
common,  with  the  schoolhouse,  and  the  blockhouse,  or 
fort,  for  defense  against  the  Indians.  All  men,  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  and  over,  and,  in  the  leading  colonies 
of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  New  Haven,  who  were  mem- 
bers of  one  of  the  congregations  within  the  limits  of  the 
colony,  were  allowed  to  vote.  Thus  you  will  see  that 
in  the  leading  New  England  colonies  church  and  state 
were  at  first  closely  connected.  All  of  the  voters  assem- 
bled once  a  year,  in  March  or  April,  before  the  spring 
planting.  In  early  days  the  meetings  were  held  in  the 
church,  but  later  a  townhouse  was  built,  in  which  the 
voters  met.  Notices  of  these  meetings  were  posted  in 
a  public  place,  and  when  the  people  were  all  assembled 
(which  at  first  they  were  compelled  to  do  or  be  fined), 
the  town  clerk  would  call  the  meeting  to  order;  they 
would  select  a  presiding  officer  and  then  proceed  to 
business.  Here  they  voted  taxes  and  selected  their 
officers  for  the  coming  year;  provided  for  education, 
building  roads,  taking  care  of  the  poor,  keeping  up  stock 
and  like  things.  Here  they  also  voted  for  the  higher 
officers  of  the  colony  and  selected  representatives  to  the 
general  court,  or  colonial  assembly.  Thus  they  were 
developing  in  the  forests  of  America  the  same  ideas  in 
the  same  kind  of  an  assembly  which  their  Teutonic  an- 
cestors had  used  in  the  German  woods  more  than  a 
thousand  years  before.  In  Rhode  Island's  early  history, 
as  well  as  that  in  the  Connecticut  colony,  government 
was  even  freer  than  in  Massachusetts,  the  adult  citizens 
being  allowed  to  vote  without  being  required  to  belong 
to  any  church.     Thus  in  looking  at  the  government  in 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA    435 

the  New  England  colonies,  we  see  the  same  principles  — 
self-reliance,  free  thought  and  free  discussion  —  already 
seen  in  the  development  of  the  English  Parliament,  the 
Renascence  and  the  Reformation,  having  a  fuller  and 
freer  growth  in  the  American  wilderness. 

Having  now  seen  something  of  the  religion  and  gov- 
ernment of  New  England,  let  us  look  at  another  institu- 
tion which  helped  greatly  to  work  out  their  liberties, 
namely,  the  public  school. 

Near  the  townhouse  or  church  in  each  New  Eng- 
land village  was  a  schoolhouse,  and  could  we  have  been 
there  and  followed  what  was  done  in  the  town-meeting, 
we  should  have  seen  them  appointing  school  officers, 
fixing  their  salaries,  deciding  what  should  be  taught, 
and  regulating  every  detail  concerning  their  education. 
Next  to  the  New  Englander's  passion  for  religion  was 
his  passion  for  education.  By  the  time  they  had  reaped 
their  fifth  small  harvest  on  the  shores  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  they  had  established  a  public  school  at  Cambridge, 
and  thereafter  schools  spread  rapidly  throughout  New 
England.  In  Connecticut  any  parent  who  neglected  the 
education  of  his  children  was  fined  twenty  shillings  (almost 
five  dollars),  and  Massachusetts  had  a  like  law.  Edu- 
cated English  men  and  women  traveling  through  New 
England  in  the  seventeenth  century  noticed  that  almost 
every  one  could  read  and  write.  This  was  a  constant 
surprise  to  Europeans  visiting  New  England,  for  at  that 
time  both  in  England  and  France  the  majority  of  the 
common  people  were  very  ignorant,  and  in  neither  coun- 
try was  there  a  system  of  common  public  schools. 
Almost  immediately  after  the  first  public  school  was 
established,  Cambridge  was  made  a  college  for  higher 


436  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

education  (in  1636),  and  in  1647  it  was  ordered  that  every 
township  having  fifty  householders  should  appoint  one 
within  their  town  to  teach  all  such  children  as  should 
attend  school  to  read  and  write,  and  that  when  any  town 
should  increase  to  one  hundred  families  they  should  set 
up  a  grammar  school,  whose  teacher  should  be  able  to  in- 
struct youth  as  far  as  they  might  be  fitted  for  the  college 
of  Cambridge.  Now  the  chief  fact  about  all  these 
schools  was  that  they  were  for  all.  And  they  were  a 
great  training-ground  for  teaching  the  lesson  that  all 
should  be  given  an  equal  opportunity  for  education,  for 
religious  freedom  and  for  taking  part  in  the  affairs  of 
government.  As  the  children  met  on  equal  footing  and 
spelled  their  a-b  abs,  they  were  slowly  and  unconsciously 
spelling  out  the  Declaration  of  Independence ;  in  prac- 
ticing their  curves  and  pothooks  they  were  getting  that 
practice  which  finally  helped  them  to  write  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States. 

But  this  was  not  all  that  was  done  in  the  way  of 
education.  One  year  after  the  first  public  school  was 
established  a  printing  press  was  set  up  at  Cambridge. 
Printing  presses  were  soon  to  be  found  throughout  New 
England.  Probably  no  other  machine  ever  invented 
has  done  so  much  for  the  liberty  of  man  as  the  printing 
press  ;  and  there  was  no  other  corner  of  the  earth  where 
the  whole  mass  of  the  people  would  have  held  it  with 
such  a  tight  grip  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  cen- 
turies as  they  would  have  done  in  New  England  if  it 
had  been  proposed  to  take  it  from  them. 

Land-holding  in  New  England  also  tended  to  place  all 
on  an  equal  footing.  Could  we  have  traveled  over  the 
little  farms  in  the  valleys  and  on  the  rocky  hillsides  dur- 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA    437 

ing  these  centuries,  seen  the  prevailing  extent  to  which 
every  farmer  owned  his  own  farm,  observed  the  honor 
in  which  labor  was  held  by  every  one,  whatever  his 
education,  office,  or  social  position,  we  should  have  seen 
in  the  main  the  same  tendency  toward  equality  of  all  in 
industry  that  we  have  observed  in  religion,  government 
and  education.  How  immeasurably  different  would  the 
life  in  a  French  or  Spanish  colony  have  seemed  when 
compared  with  all  this.  The  people  in  one  was  some- 
what like  a  hive  of  drones,  driven  to  work  and  sharing 
little  in  what  was  produced ;  the  other  a  hive  of  working 
bees,  each  striving  to  become  queen,  contributing  and 
sharing  with  increasing  equality  in  all  that  was  produced 
in  the  line  of  wealth,  or  education,  or  religion,  or  gov- 
ernment, or  social  position. 

Let  us  turn  now  from  New  England  to  the  colonies 
of  the  South  ;  that  is,  to  Virginia  and  her  neighbors,  — 
Maryland  on  the  north,  the  two  Carolinas  and  Georgia 
on  the  south. 

In  1607,  just  thirteen  years  before  the  Pilgrims  landed 
on  Cape  Cod  Bay,  a  party  of  English  people  sailed  into 
the  mouth  of  the  James  River,  Virginia,  and  made  a  set- 
tlement which  they  called  Jamestown,  naming  it,  as  they 
did  the  river,  after  their  king.  These  settlers  came  to 
America  for  a  different  purpose  from  that  which  led  to 
the  New  England  settlements.  Many  explorers  sailing 
along  the  coast  of  America  had  gathered  cargoes  of 
fish,  furs  and  minerals  of  more  or  less  value,  and  on 
returning  with  them  to  England  had  reported  many 
signs  of  gold  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  At  once  a  com- 
pany was  formed  for  exploring  for  wealth.  Thus  for 
the  most  part  the  chief  men  of  the  Jamestown  settlers 


438  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

who  first  came  were  made  up  of  Englishmen  who  hoped 
to  win  wealth  by  easy  means.  Of  course  they  were  dis- 
appointed when  they  found  no  gold.  They  did  not  wish 
to  work  themselves,  and  at  first  the  settlement  almost 
died  out.  Soon,  however,  new  settlers  came,  bringing 
supplies,  and  the  colony  began  to  thrive.  In  time  indus- 
trious settlers  came  who  put  the  idle  to  work  in  clearing 
the  fields  and  planting  tobacco.  The  man  who  did 
most  to  keep  the  early  settlement  alive  was  Captain 
John  Smith.  As  in  New  England  the  Indians  at  first 
caused  them  considerable  trouble,  but  in  time  the  set- 
tlers became  too  strong  for  them. 

There  was  a  marked  difference  in  the  circumstances 
which  surrounded  these  colonists  and  those  of  the  New 
England  settlers.  First,  the  character  of  the  country  in 
which  they  settled  was  different.  Virginia  was  espe- 
cially suited  to  farming.  The  Indians  taught  them  the 
use  of  tobacco,  and  ere  long,  as  there  was  plenty  of 
land,  many  of  them  became  owners  of  large  tobacco 
plantations,  many  of  these  containing  several  thousand 
acres.  Virginia,  near  the  coast,  is  a  low  country  with 
many  streams  ;  for  this  reason  each  plantation,  lying  as 
it  did  upon  the  river  bank,  could  have  its  own  wharf, 
and  there  load  its  large  crops  of  tobacco  and  grain  and 
in  return  unload  supplies  received  direct  from  across  the 
Atlantic.  For  this  reason  largely  Virginia  built  few 
towns. 

The  South  was  also  kept  agricultural,  largely  from  the 
fact  that  in  1619,  and  increasingly  thereafter,  negroes 
were  bought  and  worked  as  slaves  by  the  Virginia 
planters.  These  slaves,  together  with  indented  white 
servants,  who  outnumbered   the  negroes  till  near   the 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA    439 

end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  were  generally  ignorant, 
unable  to  do  skilled  work  and  hence  were  employed 
almost  entirely  in  the  field. 

Let  us  see  some  of  the  further  effects  of  slavery  in 
the  South.  The  first  Virginia  settlers,  as  already  said, 
were  of  a  rather  aristocratic  class,  who  did  not  like  to 
work.  Since  they  had  slaves  to  do  their  work  for  them, 
they  became  more  aristocratic  as  their  wealth  increased, 
and  soon  came  to  look  upon  slaves  and  white  people 
who  were  poor  as  an  inferior  class.  There  was  a  great 
difference  as  you  see  between  this  and  the  society  in  New 
England,  where  every  one  worked  and  every  man  con- 
sidered himself  the  equal  of  every  other.  Neither  could 
the  Virginians  meet  in  local  groups  and  make  their  laws, 
as  did  the  settlers  in  New  England,  because  the  plan- 
ters, scattered  for  miles,  as  they  were,  along  the  river 
banks,  resided  too  far  apart  to  easily  and  frequently 
come  together  to  discuss  and  make  their  laws.  Thus 
they  did  not  have  the  town-meeting  and  township  gov- 
ernment in  Virginia,  but  instead  of  it  the  county  govern- 
ment, in  which  only  the  wealthier  classes  took  a  hand 
in  the  management  of  affairs.  In  this  county  govern- 
ment they  clung  to  the  old  custom  of  England  existing 
since  the  Parliament  of  De  Montfort  (1265);  i.e.  that 
of  sending  representatives  to  their  colonial  assemblies. 
Thus  Virginia,  though  not  so  free  in  her  arrangement 
of  political  affairs  as  New  England,  nevertheless  held 
on  to  the  English  principle  of  representative  govern- 
ment in  establishing  her  legislature.  It  was  here  in  Vir- 
ginia that  the  first  representative  assembly  in  America 
met.  In  16 19  two  representatives,  or  burgesses,  from 
each  borough  met  in  the  church  at  Jamestown  as  the 


440  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

Virginia  Colonial  "Assembly.  They  sat  with  their  hats 
on,  according  to  the  English  custom,  and  in  other  wayvS 
imitated,  perhaps  unconsciously,  the  customs  of  the 
English  Parliament. 

This  assembly,  composed  chiefly  of  large  planters, 
continued  to  meet  annually  throughout  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries.  It  did  not  train  the  slaves  and 
lower  classes  in  lessons  of  liberty,  but  it  did  train  an 
upper  class  of  gentlemen  planters  —  as  Washington, 
Henry,  Madison,  Jefferson,  Monroe,  and  Marshall,  who 
were  as  fierce  in  guarding  liberty  when  it  was  in  danger 
as  a  lion  would  be  in  guarding  its  cubs.  When  the 
English  king  attempted  to  take  from  the  Americans 
their  local  rights  in  1775,  none  saw  sooner  than  these 
Virginians  that  the  whole  stream  of  Teutonic  liberty 
was  in  danger  of  being  stanched,  and  none  strove  more 
heroically  with  pen  and  sword  to  keep  its  current  open 
and  its  waters  pure.  But,  as  already  said,  the  South 
could  not  see  in  colonial  times  that  this  liberty  should 
belong  to  all  people,  —  not  even  to  all  white  people,  but 
those  only  who  held  slaves,  much  land  and  were  well  born. 

Although  the  Virginians  had  no  town-meetings,  they 
did  not  give  up  their  old  Teutonic  community  ideas 
in  the  slightest  degree.  At  least  once  a  year  they  had 
what  was  called  a  court  day.  On  these  days  the  people 
from  far  and  near  would  gather  on  the  courthouse 
commons,  coming  afoot,  on  horseback,  in  wagons,  ox- 
carts and  in  river  boats.  Here  they  mingled  together, 
—  the  backwoods  hunter,  the  owner  of  a  few  acres,  the 
owner  of  thousands,  the  shiftless  white,  and  the  aristo- 
cratic planter,  politicians,  traders,  negroes  and  all.  Old 
contracts  were  settled  and  new  ones  made,  lands  were 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA    441 

rented,  property  sold  and  transferred.  This  was  all 
democratic  in  a  sense,  but  it  was  democracy  in  which 
the  ruling  spirit  was  aristocracy. 

Having  now  taken  a  brief  view  of  the  general  fea- 
tures of  the  government  of  Virginia  and  neighboring 
colonies,  let  us  look  at  the  Church. 

The  early  settlers  were  mostly  followers  of  the  Church 
of  England,  but  they  were  not  so  strict  that  they  did 
not  admit  other  sects  to  the  colony,  although  down  to 
the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  War  they  taxed  others 
for  the  support  of  the  English  Church,  whether  they 
were  members  of  it  or  not.  They  governed  themselves 
in  local  matters  in  the  parish,  which  was  at  first  their 
unit  of  government.  This  was  similar  to  the  old  English 
vestry  government ;  however,  in  the  South,  instead  of 
all  the  people  of  the  parish  coming  together  to  discuss 
religious  affairs,  as  would  have  been  the  case  in  a  New 
England  colony,  the  vestry  was  composed  of  twelve 
men,  chosen,  at  first,  by  the  people,  and  afterward,  as 
vacancies  occurred,  by  the  vestrymen  themselves.  In 
the  vestry  meetings  they  voted  taxes,  appointed  over- 
seers of  the  church  and  of  the  poor,  and  selected  their 
parish  minister.  After  a  time  these  parishes  were 
grouped  into  counties  for  political  purposes,  and  the 
county  became  the  unit  of  government. 

Virginia  had  for  a  long  time  no  common  school  system. 
One  of  their  governors  even  said  near  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century  that  he  thanked  God  that  Virginia 
had  no  common  schools  and  hoped  that  he  might  never 
see  them  there.  There  were  reasons  for  all  this.  In 
the  first  place,  the  settlements  were  so  scattered  that  not 
enough  white  children  to  form  a  common  school  could 


442  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

have  come  together  in  one  place,  even  if  they  had  wished 
to  do  so.  But  the  class  distinctions  of  the  South  made 
the  upper  classes  unwilling  to  have  their  children  asso- 
ciate in  school  with  the  lower  ranks.  The  wealthy 
planters  either  sent  their  children  abroad  to  school  or 
educated  them  by  bringing  teachers  to  their  homes.  The 
lower  class  of  whites  and  the  slaves  were  ignorant  and 
generally  thought  of  nothing  better  for  their  children, 
and  were  too  poor  to  provide  for  it,  even  if  they  had. 
The  same  travelers  who  found  all  the  common  people 
of  New  England  able  to  read  and  write  were  astonished 
at  the  difference  in  education  among  the  masses  in 
Virginia.  The  wealthy  planters  brought  their  reading 
matter  from  abroad,  while  the  poor  had  neither  time  nor 
taste  for  books.  Likewise,  the  printing  press  was  late 
in  reaching  Virginia  or  any  of  the  neighboring  colonies. 
Without  common  schools,  or  books,  or  newspapers,  or 
opportunity  for  voting  for  those  who  ruled  him  both  in 
Church  and  state,  the  poor  man  of  the  South  was  chained 
to  the  lower  rounds  of  the  ladder,  and  had  almost  no 
chance  to  rise  to  a  higher  or  freer  life. 

Let  us  look  now  at  the  home  of  the  typical  Virginia 
planter.  Grouped  around  the  large  plantation  mansion, 
at  a  distance,  were  the  cabins  of  his  slaves.  These, 
though  often  kindly  treated,  were  under  the  most 
absolute  control  of  the  master.  The  white  laborers 
scattered  about  on  the  plantation  were  reduced  by 
slavery  to  the  same  level  of  life  ;  they  were  often  more 
idle,  shiftless  and  criminal  than  the  slaves  themselves. 
Within  the  walls  of  the  planter's  mansion  itself  there 
went  forward  daily  a  rather  monotonous,  dignified,  sub- 
stantial style  of  life,  often  one  bordering  on  elegance 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA     443 

In  many  of  these  homes  there  developed  a  culture  and 
grace  born  of  travel  and  much  association  with  people 
of  refinement.  Over  all  of  his  little  plantation-king- 
dom the  planter  ruled  as  absolutely  as  a  feudal  lord 
of  the  Middle  Ages  ruled  over  the  vassals  of  his 
fief.  Indeed  the  southern  life  which  grew  up  in  Vir- 
ginia and  the  neighboring  colonies  during  the  first  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  of  their  history,  was  in  spirit 
feudalism  transplanted  from  Europe  to  the  New  World. 

As  already  said,  there  were  other  southern  colonies 
much  like  Virginia.  North  and  South  Carolina,  which 
were  first  settled  in  1663,  and  Georgia  in  1732,  were 
much  the  same,  because  they  too  were  suited  to  rice 
and  cotton  plantations  and  found  slave  labor  profitable 
to  the  more  wealthy  class.  However,  these  colonies 
were  at  first  settled  by  a  less  aristocratic  and  more 
willing-to-work  class  of  people.  Finally,  however,  and 
especially  in  South  Carolina,  the  population  came  to 
have  a  large  body  of  negroes  and  white  slaves,  who 
worked  on  the  cotton  or  indigo  plantations,  or  in  the 
rice  swamps  along  the  coast.  The  labor  in  the  rice 
swamps  was  especially  unhealthful,  the  atmosphere  hot 
and  damp,  thus  making  it  almost  impossible  for  the 
whites  to  engage  in  field  labor. 

Generally  in  these  southern  colonies  much  freedom 
of  religious  practice  was  allowed,  and  hence  to  them 
came  Jews,  driven  from  Spain  during  the  Inquisition, 
French  Protestants  driven  from  both  France  and  from 
Canada  by  religious  intolerance,  Presbyterians  from 
Scotland  and  North  Ireland,  Quakers,  Baptists  and 
Methodists  from  other  colonies  and  from  England. 

Just  north  of  Virginia  was  the  colony  of  Maryland,  set 


444  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

tied  in  1634.  Here,  as  in  Virginia,  tobacco  culture  was 
largely  carried  on.  Here  also  there  came  to  be  some 
very  wealthy  planters,  but  the  more  common  class  of  peo- 
ple made  up  the  bulk  of  the  population.  In  religion  it 
was  at  first  a  Catholic  settlement.  Great  freedom  was 
allowed  all  sects  of  religion,  as  was  the  case  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  Rhode  Island,  and  all  Christians,  so  long 
as  Catholics  had  control  of  the  colony,  were  allowed  free 
worship  whether  of  the  Catholic  faith  or  not.  As  in  New 
England,  at  first  assemblies  of  all  the  free  voters  were 
held  in  parishes ;  but  when  Maryland  had  grown  in 
numbers,  taxes  were  assessed  and  laws  made  by  repre- 
sentative assemblies.  First  the  unit  of  government  was 
the  hundred,  as  in  England,  but  later  representatives 
were  chosen  by  counties  as  in  Virginia. 

Thus,  in  looking  over  the  southern  group  of  colonies 
we  see  English  institutions  springing  up  everywhere 
through  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries, — 
the  county,  or  borough,  the  representative  legislature, 
the  parish  and  the  same  general  movement  toward  free 
religious  worship  which  we  have  previously  observed 
developing  in  New  England.  The  tone  of  free  thought 
for  the  upper  class  in  the  South  in  colonial  days  was  as 
truly  English  as  that  in  New  England ;  the  great  dif- 
ference was  that  in  the  New  England  colonies  these 
liberties  constantly  filtered  down  among  the  mass  of  the 
people  and  became  more  deeply  rooted  in  the  minds  of 
the  many,  while  in  the  South  they  were  jealously  guarded 
and  held  tightly  in  the  hands  of  the  few. 

Meanwhile,  let  us  see  what  has  been  going  on  in  the 
group  of  colonies  between  Maryland  and  New  England, 
—  Delaware,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania  and  New  York*. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA    445 

We  have  seen  that  other  countries  than  England  held 
claims  to  American  soil,  and  sometimes  these  claims  over- 
lapped each  other.  Thus  it  came  about  that  two  or  more 
countries  might  claim  the  same  territory.  The  Dutch, 
for  example,  settled  New  York,  which  then  included 
New  Jersey,  and  had  struggles  concerning  boundaries, 
both  with  New  Jersey  and  the  English  colonies  to  the 
northeast.  They  built  the  small  village  of  New  Amster- 
dam, which  to-day  is  New  York  City.  Along  the  banks 
of  the  Hudson  they  undertook  a  system  of  land  owner- 
ship much  like  the  old  feudal  system.  They  had  free 
schools  and  popular  assemblies.  Meanwhile,  settle- 
ments in  Delaware  were  begun  by  the  Swedes ;  and 
although  this  small  Swedish  colony  soon  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Dutch,  the  Swedes  left  the  influence  of 
their  industry  and  thrift  upon  the  people.  But  this 
Dutch  territory,  controlling  as  it  did  the  front  doorway 
—  New  York  harbor  —  to  the  American  continent,  was 
entirely  too  valuable  for  England  to  lose  ;  and  what  was 
of  more  importance,  it  divided  her  northern  and  south- 
ern colonies.  No  complete  union  of  the  English  colonies 
could  be  possible  while  the  Dutch  claims  kept  them 
apart.  So  in  1664,  just  fifty  years  after  the  Dutch  made 
their  first  settlement  in  America,  England  conquered  the 
Dutch  settlers  and  brought  the  territory  under  her  con- 
trol. This  conquest  also  ultimately  gave  the  English 
the  key  to  the  West  through  the  Hudson  and  Mohawk 
valleys. 

There  was  yet  a  large  strip  of  land,  between  New 
York  and  Maryland,  containing  another  doorway  to  the 
interior  of  the  continent.  This  was  given  by  the  king 
of  England  to  William  Penn,  who  sent  settlers  to  it  in 


446  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

1681,  and  the  following  year  came  himself  and  founded 
the  -city  of  Philadelphia.  Penn  and  his  settlers  were 
Quakers,  and  believed  fully  in  the  freedom  of  thought 
established  by  the  Reformation.  They  were  very  lib- 
eral minded,  and  invited  to  their  colony  people  of  all 
religions.  Penn  himself  traveled  through  Europe  and 
gave  a  general  invitation  to  the  oppressed  of  all  sects 
to  settle  in  his  colony.  The  result  was  that  oppressed 
people  of  all  religious  denominations  came  .to  Pennsylva- 
nia ;  and  as  the  same  wide  freedom  came  to  be  allowed 
in  the  other  central  colonies,  many  also  settled  there. 
Quite  a  number  of  Scotch  Presbyterians  settled  in  New 
Jersey,  which  had  been  purchased  by  Penn  and  his 
friends.  Jews  and  French  Huguenots  thronged  into 
these  central  colonies,  especially  into  Pennsylvania  and 
New  York. 

The  greatest  freedom  also  grew  up  here  in  government, 
especially  in  Pennsylvania,  and  all  laws  made  and  taxes 
assessed  came  directly  from  the  people.  Penn  bought 
the  land  from  the  Indians  and  by  presents  made  them 
his  fast  friends.  Means  of  education  also  grew  from 
the  very  first.  A  writer  says :  "  Three  years  had  not 
passed  after  the  landing  of  the  first  colony  in  Pennsyl- 
vania when  the  clank  of  a  machine  which  had  reformed 
Europe  and  caused  America  to  be  discovered  could  be 
heard  under  the  shade  of  the  Pennsylvania  forests." 
He  means,  of  course,  the  printing  press.  Nearly  fifty 
years  previously  Massachusetts  had  set  up  her  first 
press  at  Cambridge.  It  was  by  peace  and  not  by  war, 
by  knowledge  and  not  by  gold,  that  the  English  colo- 
nies in  America  sought  to  found  their  institutions. 

By  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  Philadelphia 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA    447 

became  the  leading  city  in  America,  which  was  quite 
natural  considering  her  favorable  situation  and  liberal 
laws.  The  middle  colonies,  especially  Pennsylvania 
with  her  many  different  peoples,  became  a  door  through 
which  liberal  ideas  entered  the  other  colonies.  Penn- 
sylvania settlers,  pressing  westward,  when  they  struck 
the  Appalachian  Mountains  were  frequently  turned 
southward.  They  poured  down  into  the  western  parts 
of  Virginia,  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia,  and  became  the 
free,  lusty,  self-reliant  forefathers  of  the  rough  back- 
woodsmen, like  Boone,  Sevier  and  Robertson, — just 
the  kind  of  people,  in  fact,  needed  to  push  across  the 
mountains  in  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  and 
subdue  the  forest,  the  French  and  the  Indians  in  the  vast 
trans-Appalachian  territory,  and  to  carve  out  of  it  the 
states  of  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illi- 
nois. 

All  in  all  these  central  colonies,  as  they  grew  ever 
stronger,  because  of  their  many  types  of  speech,  blood, 
religion  and  government,  living  in  fellowship  together, 
none  lording  it  over  the  others,  were  a  pattern  of  what 
the  great  Union  was  to  grow  to  be  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  when  it  should  become  a  union  of  the  States 
and  the  free  home  of  every  tongue  and  people. 

Thus  we  see  in  the  middle  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century  an  American  population  reaching  from  Maine 
to  Florida,  having  many  kinds  of  people,  but  all  being 
molded  by  one  general  set  of  ideas.  All  their  institu- 
tions were  English.  In  speaking  of  the  local  govern- 
ment in  the  colonies  mention  has  been  made  of  colonial 
governments.  Not  all  of  these  were  alike.  There  were 
three   general   kinds :    First,   Rhode    Island   and   Con- 


448  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

necticut  had  Republican  forms  of  government ;  that  is, 
the  people  there  elected  their  governors  and  other  offi- 
cers. Second,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland  and  Delaware 
were  each  owned  by  men  who  appointed  the  governors 
who  ruled  in  them;  for  example,  in  Pennsylvania,  William 
Penn  or  his  descendants  appointed  the  governor.  These 
were  called  proprietary  governments.  Third,  the  re- 
mainder of  the  colonies  were  Royal  Provinces,  so  called 
because  their  governors  were  appointed  by  the  English 
king.  But  whatever  their  form  or  name,  in  all  the  colo- 
nies there  were  free  local  governments  —  either  town- 
ship or  county  —  and  colonial  assemblies  elected  by  the 
people.  They  were  indeed  practically  thirteen  colonies 
of  self-governing  people. 

In  1704  (ninety-seven  years  after  the  founding  of 
Jamestown)  Boston  published  a  weekly  newspaper.  It 
was  only  a  half-sheet  of  foolscap  in  size,  but  was  thought 
sufficient  to  contain  all  the  news  of  the  day.  Best  of 
all  it  was  a  beginning.  Other  newspapers  were  soon 
founded.  In  1775  four  were  printed  in  Boston  and 
as  many  more  in  Philadelphia. 

The  free  schools  which  were  scattered  through  the 
central  and  northern  colonies  were  the  best  supporters 
of  the  printing  press.  By  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary 
War  (1775)  there  were  several  higher  schools  of  learning. 
Besides  Harvard  and  Yale,  the  two  leading  universities, 
there  were  Dartmouth,  Columbia,  Princeton  and  Pennsyl- 
vania university,  and  even  Virginia  was  seeing  the  need 
of  schools,  and  with  aid  from  the  English  king  and  queen, 
William  and  Mary,  had  founded  a  college  named  for 
them.  It  is  nevertheless  true  that  mental  progress  was 
slow  in  the  slave  region,  and  students  were  few.     It  is 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA    449 

also  true  that  slavery  existed  in  the  northern  colonies, 
but  as  slaves  in  the  North  were  generally  used  only  as 
house  servants,  they  were  much  fewer,  better  cared  for, 
and  did  not  greatly  affect  the  character  of  the  institu- 
tions among  which  they  grew.  Many  attempts  had  been 
made  to  Christianize  and  educate  the  Indians.  Dart- 
mouth College,  in  New  Hampshire,  was  founded  partly 
for  their  education,  and  one  Indian  graduated  at  Harvard 
College,  but  not  much  was  accomplished  in  way  of  their 
general  education  or  conversion  to  Christianity.  A  public 
library  was  founded  at  Philadelphia  in  1742  by  Benjamin 
Franklin,  and  several  smaller  ones  were  soon  after  estab- 
lished in  the  principal  towns  of  Pennsylvania.  These 
were  kept  up  by  the  people.  New  England  also  did 
much  for  the  education  of  the  general  masses  through 
the  public  library.  Boston  was  already  by  the  time  of 
the  opening  of  the  Revolution  showing  a  taste  for  music, 
painting,  and  other  forms  of  art. 

If  now,  at  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  we 
take  a  brief  view  of  the  English  colonies,  we  shall  see 
how  much  they  differ  from  either  the  French  or  the 
Spanish.  In  the  English  colonies  were  found  hundreds 
of  little  local  governments,  cities,  towns,  townships 
and  counties,  —  and  each  colony  had  a  central  colonial 
government,  all  practically  in  the  hands  of  the  people. 
Over  the  entire  domains  of  the  Spanish  and  French 
there  was  neither  township,  county,  or  colonial  legisla- 
ture, —  all  government  with  them  was  carefully  guarded 
and  securely  kept  in  the  hands  of  the  king. 

In  the  English  colonies  there  had  grown  up  side  by 
side  more  than  a  score  of  different  sects  of  religion,  all 
stimulating  and  improving  each  other  by  free  discus- 


450  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

sion.  In  the  French  and  Spanish  colonies  but  a  single 
religion  was  allowed. 

In  the  English  colonies  there  were  free  schools,  a 
free  press  and  free  public  libraries ;  in  the  French 
and  Spanish  colonies  no  free  schools  or  public  libraries, 
and  a  few  small  printing  presses  wholly  under  control 
of  the  king  and  the  Church. 

The  labor  (north  of  the  Potomac)  in  the  English 
colonies  was  mainly  free.  In  the  French  and  Spanish 
colonies  labor  was  either  slave  labor  or  based  on  feudal- 
ism. In  short,  the  English  were  rapidly  developing  and 
extending  the  principles  of  liberty  in  all  the  institutions, 
—  Church,  state,  school  and  industry ;  the  French  and 
Spanish  were  content  to  hold  firmly  to  the  ideas  of  the 
Middle  Ages  and  strove  to  realize  in  America  their  ideal 
of  a  single  ruler  in  government  as  well  as  a  single  faith 
in  religion. 

Could  the  English  colonists  have  gone  on  growing  as 
they  were,  without  outside  hindrance,  their  progress 
would,  no  doubt,  have  been  remarkable  by  the  end  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  But  in  the  middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  they  had  to  meet  their  first  great 
obstacle  to  growth.  As  we  have  already  said,  the 
French  claimed  the  Mississippi  Valley.  England  also 
claimed  it ;  so,  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
when  the  English  colonists  tried  to  push  their  civiliza- 
tion westward  through  the  doorways  of  the  Appalachian 
Mountains  opening  into  the  Mississippi  Valley,  their 
right  was  disputed  by  the  French.  War  soon  came  on 
between  the  English  and  the  French  colonists  for  the 
possession  of  the  great  valley,  and  especially  did  the 
trouble  center  at  this  time  about  the  Ohio  River,  which 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA     45 1 

was  the  great  watercourse  necessary  for  France  to 
obtain  in  order  to  make  sure  her  complete  possession  of 
the  entire  Mississippi  system. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  English  settle- 
ments the  people  of  all  the  colonies  came  together  and 
fought  as  if  for  a  united  country.  It  took  some  strong 
outside  enemy  to  teach  them  the  first  lessons  of  united 
action.  In  this  struggle  the  French  had  on  their  side 
most  of  the  Indians  except  the  six  nations  of  New  York, 
who  assisted  the  English.  The  final  struggle  between 
the  English  and  French  for  the  possession  of  the  heart 
of  America  came  between  1754  and  1763,  and  in  the 
latter  year  France  made  a  treaty  ceding  to  England 
all  French  possessions  east  of  the  Mississippi,  except, 
as  already  said,  the  two  fishing  stations  of  Miquelon 
and  St.  Pierre.  Spain,  having  helped  France,  was  com- 
pelled to  give  up  Florida.  France,  to  make  this  loss 
good  to  Spain,  ceded  to  her  all  the  French  territory 
west  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  effects  of  this  war  were  far  reaching.  It  removed 
all  warlike  enemies  from  the  frontiers,  opened  up  the  nat- 
ural roadway  to  the  West,  left  the  English  colonies  more 
free  to  expand,  and  thus  enabled  them  to  develop  their 
own  resources  without  fear  of  being  disturbed.  As  we 
have  already  noticed,  it  brought  the  people  together  and 
began  to  teach  them  the  lessons  of  union  on  the  battle- 
field. Representatives  from  some  of  the  colonies  had 
been  meeting  occasionally  since  1643  to  discuss  their 
common  interests.  In  1754  a  meeting,  or  Congress,  was 
held  at  Albany,  New  York,  where  a  plan  for  union  of 
all  the  colonies  was  presented  by  Benjamin  Franklin. 
His  plan  was  adopted  by  the  Congress  but  was  refused 


452  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

by  the  colonies.  They  had  not  yet  grown  sufficiently  to 
see  the  use  of  a  permanent  union. 

The  French  having  been  removed  from  their  path- 
way by  the  French  and  Indian  War,  the  English 
colonies  were  again  in  a  fair  way  to  start  on  the  road 
to  free  institutions  with  increased  strength  and  hope. 
But  again  came  a  greater  hindrance,  and  this  time 
from  England.  That  government  had  been  put 
to  great  expense  in  the  French  and  Indian  War. 
They  now  thought  the  American  colonists  should  be 
taxed  to  help  pay  this  debt,  and  also  to  pay  soldiers 
stationed  in  America  to  protect  them.  Probably  the 
colonists  would  not  at  first  have  objected  to  this  if  they 
had  been  allowed  representation  in  the  English  Parlia- 
ment, where  they  could  have  exercised  the  privilege  of 
voting  taxes  upon  themselves,  which  they  rightly  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  greatest  principles  of  English 
liberty  and  necessities  of  free  government. 

Again,  the  English  government  would  not  allow 
America  to  trade  with  any  country  except  England, 
and  required  that  all  colonial  trade  should  be  carried  in 
British  ships.  The  American  farmers  could  grow  and 
export  products  to  England  cheaper  than  the  British 
could  grow  them,  so  England  taxed  the  exports  from 
the  colonies  to  protect  English  farmers.  The  greatest 
grievance  came,  however,  in  1765,  when  a  law  was 
passed  requiring  all  colonial  business  papers,  such  as 
wills,  deeds  and  the  like,  and  newspapers,  to  be  written 
on  stamped  paper,  which  was  to  be  bought  from  Eng- 
lish officers  stationed  in  the  colonies. 

All  of  these  laws  were  aggravating  to  the  colonies  and 
naturally  drove  them  together  to  resist  them.    The  colon- 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA     453 

ists  felt  that  they  were  being  unfairly  treated,  and  when 
later  troops  were  sent  to  Boston  from  England  to  en- 
force the  laws,  a  united  complaint  went  up  from  all  the 
colonies,  in  all  of  which  great  men  arose  to  protest 
against  despotic  rule.  How  could  such  a  tyrannical 
government  be  imposed  upon  the  colonists  by  a  people 
whom  we  have  so  frequently  spoken  of  as  loving  liberty, 
and  as  having  struggled  for  it  for  hundreds  of  years  ? 
The  answer  is  found  in  the  fact  that  this  oppression  to 
the  colonies  did  not  come  from  the  wish  of  the  English 
people  in  general,  but  rather  by  the  arbitrary  will  of 
the  king  —  George  the  Third  —  and  from  a  few  influ- 
ential friends  who  composed  his  Cabinet,  and  who  were 
able  for  a  time  to  control  Parliament.  There  were  many 
members  of  the  Parliament  which  passed  the  tyrannical 
measures  who  said  that  the  Americans  were  struggling 
for  liberties  as  old  as  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  itself,  and 
that  to  destroy  their  liberties  would  be  to  destroy  the 
foundation  principles  of  the  English  Constitution  itself. 
But  the  English  government,  as  already  said,  led  by  a 
half-crazed  king,  was  in  the  hands  of  men  who  had  no 
sympathy  with  common  people,  or  with  English  liberties, 
and  to  them  the  trouble  of  the  American  Revolution 
was  due. 

The  principle  that  people  should  not  be  taxed  except 
by  their  own  representatives  was  five  hundred  years  old, 
at  least  in  England,  when  the  American  Revolution 
began,  and  the  colonists  would  not  consent  to  have  this 
principle  destroyed.  At  first,  true  to  their  nature  and 
long  training  in  English  moderation  and  representative 
government,  they  employed  discussion  —  the  peaceable 
method  of  settling  the  difficulty.     They  discussed  the 


454  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

matter  in  the  press,  they  argued  it  in  their  town-meet- 
ings and  colonial  assemblies,  they  published  tracts  and 
books  upon  it.  But  failing  in  these  peaceable  means, 
they  "  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world  for 
the  rectitude  of  their  intentions  "  and  then  took  up 
arms. 

In  September,  1774,  a  body  of  representatives,  called 
the  Continental  Congress,  met  in  Philadelphia,  and  de- 
termined to  resist  the  unjust  laws  of  the  king.  And 
when,  on  July  4,  1776,  the  same  body  declared  that  the 
thirteen  colonies  were  and  of  right  ought  to  be  free  and 
independent  states,  the  declaration  was  not  only  gladly 
received  by  the  majority  of  the  colonists,  but  also  by  a 
large  proportion  of  the  English  Commons  at  home. 
Already,  when  this  declaration  was  made,  the  Revolu- 
tion had  been  going  on  for  over  a  year,  and  George 
Washington  had  been  placed  in  command  of  the  Amer- 
ican army.  The  war  had  been  begun  for  local  colonial 
rights,  but  persuaded  by  such  men  as  Samuel  Adams 
and  James  Otis  of  Massachusetts  and  Patrick  Henry  of 
Virginia,  colonial  rights  had  now  grown  to  a  demand  for 
complete  independence. 

You  must  not  think,  however,  that  all  the  colonists 
wished  for  independence.  In  spite  of  all  the  wrongs 
done  them  by  the  king's  government,  many  were  not 
willing  to  separate  from  England.  Those  who  re- 
mained loyal  to  the  king  were  called  Tories,  or  Loyalists. 
Since  a  considerable  part  of  the  English  common  people 
sympathized  with  the  colonists,  and  did  not  desire  to  fight 
against  the  liberties  which  had  enabled  their  own  nation 
to  grow  so  great,  King  George  and  his  Cabinet  concluded 
to  hire  German  soldiers  to  fight  the  Americans.    This  ag- 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA     455 

gravated  the  American  soldier  as  perhaps  no  other  event 
of  the  war,  and  did  much  to  gain  the  sympathy  of  foreign 
nations  for  the  colonies,  especially  that  of  France. 
Throughout  the  entire  struggle,  from  1775  to  1781,  when 
Cornwallis  surrendered  at  Yorktown,  the  Americans  were 
led  by  Washington,  whose  wisdom,  unselfishness  and 
patriotism  make  him  one  of  the  greatest  men  in  all  his- 
tory. General  Washington's  task  in  keeping  the  colo- 
nial army  together  was  a  most  difficult  one,  for  the 
Continental  Congress  had  no  power  to  furnish  money 
or  supplies.  They  could  only  ask  for  help  from  each  of 
the  States,  leaving  it  to  their  own  choice  whether  they 
would  give  assistance  or  not.  But  as  Congress  was  able 
to  borrow  from  France  and  from  private  individuals,  the 
war  was  continued  until  a  great  victory  over  the  English 
army  at  Saratoga,  in  New  York,  in  1777,  convinced 
France  that  the  Americans  would  win.  After  this 
France  willingly  gave  assistance,  almost  immediately 
sending  money,  soldiers  and  commanders ;  French  vol- 
unteers likewise  came,  foremost  among  whom  was 
Lafayette.  With  this  help  Washington,  in  1781,  cap- 
tured the  British  commander  Cornwallis  and  his  entire 
army  at  Yorktown,  Virginia.  This  practically  ended 
the  war,  but  the  treaty  giving  the  Americans  complete 
independence  and  all  the  territory  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi except  Florida  was  not  signed  till  1783. 

This  is  but  a  brief  sketch  of  the  Revolution;  but 
the  most  important  fact  to  see  is,  that  English  liberty 
was  in  danger  in  the  hands  of  the  despotic  king ;  and 
it  was  most  fortunate,  not  only  for  the  American 
States  but  for  the  whole  English  race  as  well,  that 
there  was  still  a  people  among  whom  this  liberty  yet 


456  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

lived  in  its  original  Teutonic  strength,  and  a  leader 
whose  remarkable  powers  both  in  war  and  peace 
enabled  him  to  guide  this  people  both  on  the  battle- 
field and  in  the  council  hall,  in  such  a  way  as  to  save 
these  principles  of  freedom  not  only  for  themselves 
but  for  England  as  well.  In  crushing  tyranny  in 
America,  Washington  thus  became  one  of  the  greatest 
benefactors  of  the  entire  Teutonic   race.1 

America,  by  the  effects  of  the  war,  became  thirteen 
11  free  and  independent  states,"  as  it  is  expressed  in  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  But  now  that  they 
were  free,  a  still  more  difficult  question  arose:  How 
could  they  best  govern  themselves  so  as  to  preserve 
the  liberties  they  had  just  won  ?  Some  wished  for 
each  state  to  set  up  practically  a  separate  government 
for  itself,  but  the  majority  favored  some  kind  of  union. 
They  were  in  reality  one  people,  with  the  same  lan- 
guage and  institutions,  and  had  been  brought  much 
more  closely  together  than  ever  before  by  the  fellowship 
gained  through  the  French  and  Revolutionary  wars. 
They  were  mainly  familiar  with  one  form  of  govern- 
ment. All  of  them  were  used  to  living  under  some  kind 
of  written  constitution  and  of  having  their  government 
controlled  by  it.  All  were  used  to  electing  their  own 
representatives.  Now  that  they  were  free  states,  they 
had  all  reorganized  their  governments  upon  the  same 
representative  assembly  plan,  with  judicial  system  and 
elective  governors  under  state  constitutions.  In  1777, 
during  the  Revolutionary  War,  a  plan  of   union  had 

1  Study  here  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  And  have  students 
memorize  the  first  two  and  last  three  paragraphs  of  it,  after  talking  them 
over  with  the  children  and  making  sure  that  they  see  the  meaning  of  them 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA    457 

been  adopted  by  the  Continental  Congress.  This  plan 
was  drawn  up  in  a  document  called  the  Articles  of 
Confederation.  They  were  not  satisfactory  to  all  of 
the  states,  and  some  were  slow  in  adopting  them. 
Meanwhile  they  were  being  discussed  by  the  states, 
and  in  1781  were  ratified  by  all  of  the  states  as  the 
form  of  government.1 

On  the  whole  the  Articles  provided  a  poor  plan  of 
government.  The  states  under  them  were  much  like 
the  staves  of  a  barrel  without  hoops  around  them. 
While  leaving  each  state  its  own  legislature,  governor 
and  judicial  system,  it  did  not  bind  them  together  by 
a  strong  central  power ;  that  is,  the  central  government 
had  no  real  power  over  the  states.  The  union  could 
not  make  general  laws  for  the  states  nor  settle  difficul- 
ties which  arose  between  them  respecting  boundaries 
and  the  like,  nor  tax  them  for  national  support.  The 
government  was  without  a  head,  and  while  it  was  given 
the  right  to  raise  and  keep  an  army,  make  war  and  peace, 
make  treaties  with  foreign  nations,  etc.,  so  long  as  it  had 
no  authority  over  the  states  and  the  individuals  in  the 
states  to  compel  obedience,  these  powers  were  useless. 

However,  it  was  the  best  they  knew  at  that  time, 
and  they  made  the  most  of  it.  Through  their  failures 
they  learned  valuable  lessons  of  how  to  form  a  stronger 
union.  During  the  eight  years  it  was  in  operation, 
from  1 78 1  to  1789,  trouble  constantly  arose  between  the 
states  regarding  boundaries,  money,  and  trade,  and 
between  the  Congress   and   states   regarding  taxation. 

1  Study  here  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  especially  observe  the 
large  extent  of  power  granted  to  the  States  by  the  Articles,  and  the  absence 
of  independent  power  granted  to  the  central  government. 


458  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

Many  times  they  were  on  the  verge  of  war  among  them- 
selves and  in  danger  of  destroying  the  liberties  they  had 
struggled  so  hard  to  secure.  Throughout  all  these  dis- 
putes the  wisest  men  in  the  colonies  strove  through  press 
and  legislature  and  council  to  hold  the  states  together. 
By  the  French  and  Indian  War,  the  land  northwest  of 
the  Ohio  River  passed  into  the  possession  of  England. 
By  the  Revolutionary  War  this  same  territory  passed 
in  reality  into  the  hands  of  all  the  states ;  but  several  of 
the  states  in  their  selfishness  claimed  these  western 
lands  and  did  not  give  them  up  to  the  Union,  till  be- 
tween 1784  and  1787.  This  land  when  surrendered 
was  really  folkland  in  which  all  were  interested,  and 
forcibly  reminds  us  of  the  little  Teutonic  settlement 
which  we  saw  in  studying  the  early  Teuton  in  the  fifth 
grade.  It  was  the  same  thing  on  a  larger  scale,  and 
it  is  interesting  to  see  how  this  old  Teutonic  idea  of 
Public  land  was  one  of  the  foundation  stones  upon 
which  we  built  our  Union. 

Just  after  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  a  com- 
pany, called  the  Ohio  Company,  was  formed,  to  secure 
and  sell  land  in  the  northwest  territory.  It  was  the 
intention  of  the  general  government  to  dispose  of  this 
land  to  old  soldiers  of  the  Revolution  at  low  prices, 
thereby  helping  them  and  also  providing  funds  for  the 
nation.  Thus,  while  the  people  of  all  of  the  states 
claimed  a  share  in  such  valuable  territory,  the  individ- 
ual states  were  not  so  apt  to  withdraw  from  the  Union. 

Just  before  giving  up  command  of  the  army,  Wash- 
ington explored  the  Mohawk  Valley.  What  was  much 
needed,  he  thought,  were  easy  lines  of  travel  between 
all  parts  of  the  country,  especially  between  the  East 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA    459 

and  the  West;  for  at  this  time  the  roads  connecting 
the  different  parts  of  the  country  were  generally  very 
poor.  Soon  after  returning  to  his  home  at  Mt.  Vernon, 
he  turned  his  attention  to  the  improvement  of  a  trade 
route  to  the  West,  through  the  Potomac  Valley.  In 
order  to  carry  out  plans  of  importance  it  was  thought 
necessary  for  Virginia  to  act  with  Maryland,  and  as 
the  improvement  would  include  the  headwaters  of  the 
Ohio  River,  Pennsylvania  was  also  invited  to  take 
part.  Washington  thought  that  while  these  states  were 
about  it  they  might  agree  upon  an  equal  system  of 
duties  on  imported  goods,  the  coining  of  national  money 
and  other  matters.  And  since  the  meeting  was  to  be 
held,  why  not  invite  all  the  states  to  take  part  in  it.  So 
each  state  was  asked  to  send  representatives  to  meet  in 
September,  1786,  at  Annapolis.  Many  of  the  states  did 
not  think  the  question  of  enough  importance  to  send 
representatives,  so  nothing  was  accomplished  except  that 
another  meeting  was  called  for  the  following  May,  to 
meet  in  Philadelphia,  to  consider  the  matters  mentioned 
and  other  matters  that  might  arise. 

Almost  every  one  was  beginning  to  see  that  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Union  under  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion was  a  poor  one,  and  the  "  other  matters  "  referred 
to  in  the  call  for  the  second  meeting  hinted  at  some 
kind  of  reform  in  the  Articles  of  Confederation.  Thus 
came  about  the  convention  which  put  into  written  form 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  many  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  which,  as  we  have  seen,  were  more  than  a 
thousand  years  old.  And  it  is  important  to  notice 
that  this  convention  was  composed  of  delegates  chosen 
by  the  people  and  not  by  the  states. 


460  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

The  assembly  met  at  Philadelphia,  May  25,  1787,  and 
after  completing  its  work,  adjourned  on  the  17th  of  the 
following  September.  Washington  was  made  president 
of  the  convention.  Alexander  Hamilton  was  a  delegate 
from  New  York,  Franklin  from  Pennsylvania,  Madison 
from  Virginia.  There  were  sixty-two  delegates  in  all  ap- 
pointed ;  fifty-five  attended  at  one  time  or  another,  and 
thirty-nine  members  finally  signed  the  Constitution.  It 
was  a  meeting  of  many  of  the  greatest  men  of  the  coun- 
try. Among  its  members  were  those  who  had  sat  in 
the  Continental  Congress  and  had  signed  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence.  It  contained  those  who  were  in 
favor  of  a  strong  central  government,  those  who  were 
in  favor  of  strong  local  governments,  and  moderate 
men  who  favored  the  harmonious  balance  of  the  two 
great  governmental  principles. 

The  convention  met  in  secret,  for  the  delegates  feared 
if  it  were  known  that  the  then  existing  form  of  govern- 
ment was  to  be  changed,  those  who  were  jealous  of  local 
power  might  cause  their  work  to  be  interfered  with. 
Different  plans  were  presented  in  the  convention,  and 
were  followed  by  such  stormy  debate  that  it  was  often 
feared  that  the  body  would  be  compelled  to  adjourn 
without  accomplishing  any  result.  No  one  was  there 
who  did  not  realize  the  weakness  of  the  existing  form 
of  government  under  the  Articles  of  Confederation, 
but  so  many  widely  different  interests  were  represented 
by  the  several  colonies  that  it  was  hard  to  hit  upon  any- 
thing that  would  be  satisfactory  to  all.  Every  one  knew 
that  under  the  Articles  of  Confederation  the  central 
government  had  not  enough  power,  but  the  states  were 
afraid  to   give   it   too    much    power.     They  had  been 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA    461 

driven  to  revolt  against  England  by  a  government 
whose  central  power  in  the  hands  of  a  despotic  king  had 
become  tyrannical.  So,  you  see,  among  these  delegates 
there  was  room  for  the  greatest  diversity  of  honest  opin- 
ions and  interests.  Some  would  amend  the  Articles  of 
Confederation,  others  would  cast  them  aside  and  make 
an  entirely  new  Constitution.  Some  especially  guarded 
the  agricultural  interests  of  the  South,  such  as  the  rice 
and  indigo  industry  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia, 
others  the  shipping  interests  of  New  England.  The 
South  saw  to  it  that  the  right  to  hold  slaves  was  care- 
fully guarded,  while  the  North  would  have  either  dis- 
couraged slavery  or  entirely  abolished  it. 

After  four  months  of  discussion,  during  which  several 
of  the  delegates  returned  to  their  homes,  either  in  de- 
spair or  disgust,  the  Constitution  was  completed.  After 
being  signed,  as  already  said,  by  thirty-nine  delegates  it 
was  sent  to  the  Continental  Congress  sitting  at  New 
York,  to  be  submitted  to  the  different  states  for  ratifica- 
tion by  the  people  in  special  conventions  held  therein.  A 
great  work  had  been  completed  in  writing  the  Constitu- 
tion, but  a  greater  was  yet  to  be  done  in  securing  its 
ratification.  It  was  a  difficult  task  in  the  state  conven- 
tions and  in  the  press  —  that  greatest  of  all  means  for 
public  enlightenment  —  for  the  supporters  of  the  Consti- 
tution to  convince  the  delegates  assembled,  and  the 
public  which  they  represented,  that  the  salvation  of  the 
Republic  depended  upon  its  ratification.  But  Washing- 
ton, Madison,  Jay,  Hamilton,  Franklin,  and  others,  who 
realized  the  critical  stage  through  which  the  life  of  the 
nation  was  passing,  at  once  began  a  plea  for  its  adop- 
tion.    By   speeches   and   written    articles   which   were 


462  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

scattered  broadcast  among  the  people,  they  gradually 
won  them  to  its  support.  The  Constitution  was  subject 
to  amendment,1  and  this  did  more  for  its  acceptance  than 
any  other  one  thing.  The  people  were  urged  to  ratify 
it  and  then  strengthen  its  weaknesses  by  amendments. 
So,  as  already  said,  it  was  sent  by  the  Constitutional 
Convention  to  the  Continental  Congress  and  then  sent 
by  that  body  to  the  several  states,  in  each  of  which  it  was 
voted  on  by  a  convention  elected  by  the  people  for  that 
express  purpose.  Delaware  was  the  first  state  to  accept 
it.  Her  convention  met  and  ratified  it  almost  immedi- 
ately on  receiving  it  from  the  hands  of  Congress.  The 
other  states  followed  slowly,  after  hard-fought  contests 
in  some  of  them,  and  by  July,  1788,  all  the  states  except 
Rhode  Island  and  North  Carolina  had  ratified  it.  Thus 
there  had  come  about  in  one  hundred  and  eighty  years 
after  the  first  permanent  English  settlement  in  America 
a  Union  of  the  American  States  under  a  strong  Constitu- 
tion ;  for  the  Constitution  provided  that  it  should  be- 
come binding  on  the  states  ratifying  when  agreed  to  by 
nine  states.2  North  Carolina  became  a  member  of  the 
Union  in  1789,  and  Rhode  Island  in  1790.  To  under- 
stand the  Constitution  we  must  study  it  directly  and  in 
detail,  but  we  will  notice  here  a  few  of  its  general  provi- 
sions. First,  it  gave  the  Union  a  strong  executive  head 
—  the  President.  It  provides  for  two  legislative  bodies, 
an  upper  one, — the  Senate,  —  and  a  lower  one,  —  the 
House  of  Representatives.  Each  state  has  two  sena- 
tors, while  the  number  of  representatives  from  any 
state  depends  on  the  population  of  that  state.  But 
perhaps  most  important  of  all,  the  Constitution  estab- 

1  Constitution,  Art.  V.  2  Constitution,  Art,  VII. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA     463 

lished  a  judicial  system,  headed  by  a  supreme  court  and 
having  circuit  and  district  courts  extending  over  the 
entire  country.  This  was  a  very  great  improvement  over 
the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  by  its  authority  to 
settle  difficulties  arising  between  the  states  and  between 
citizens  of  different  states,  it  has  contributed  in  a  pow- 
erful way  to  the  peaceful  and  harmonious  working  of 
our  government. 

The  Constitution  as  a  whole  gave  to  the  American 
people  a  strong  central  government,  binding  the  country 
together  into  a  close  union  of  states ;  and  while  it  has 
power  to  force  them  to  remain  true  to  the  Union,  it  also 
protects  them  and  shields  them  from  foreign  enemies 
and  from  domestic  quarrels.  The  Union  is  composed  of 
states ;  the  states  of  districts ;  the  districts  of  counties ; 
the  counties  of  townships,  or  parishes.  It  is  the  noblest 
example  in  all  history  of  one  government  composed  of 
many,  and  many  governments  united  in  one. 

Thus  is  our  Union  based  upon  the  two  great  princi- 
ples of  free  government  thus  far  studied  —  a  strong 
central  government  to  w atch  over  and  guard  the  general 
interests  of  the  people,  such,  for  example,  as  coining 
money,  regulating  commerce  and  forming  treaties  — 
and  equally  strong,  active  local  governments  in  which 
the  people  can  directly  manage  their  home  affairs,  such 
as  education,  religion  and  laws  concerning  property. 
The  first  principle  —  that  of  strong  central  power  —  was 
first  taught  to  the  world  by  Rome ;  the  second,  that  of 
local  government,  was  given  to  the  world  by  the 
Teutonic  race,  and  especially  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  branch 
of  it.  The  people  of  the  United  States,  in  forming  their 
Constitution,   thus  based  their  Union  upon   principles 


464  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

which  had  been  growing  for  more  than  two  thousand 
years.  But  in  doing  so,  they  have  only  made  it  the 
more  firm.  The  great  importance  of  the  United  States 
in  the  history  of  the  world  is  that,  as  a  nation,  it  has 
set  up  a  pattern  for  all  free  peoples  as  no  other  nation 
has  done,  a  government  in  which  these  two  vital  prin- 
ciples of  free  government  have  been  equally  adopted, 
safeguarded  and  developed.  In  this  particular  the 
United  States  has  not  only  given  her  own  people  liberty, 
but  has  become  a  great  inspiration  to  other  nations  who 
are  struggling  to  work  out  their  social,  political,  religious, 
industrial  and  educational  freedom. 

Study  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  with  special  view  of 
seeing  the  powers  granted  by  it  to  the  general  government  on  the 
one  hand,  and  those  left  to  the  states  on  the  other. 

Discuss  with  pupils  the  most  important  provisions  of  the  Con- 
stitution, then  have  pupils  memorize  them  :  e.g.  Preamble  ;  Article  I, 
Section  8,  Clauses  1-18 ;  Article  II,  Section  10,  Clauses  1-3 ; 
Article  III,  Section  2 ;  Article  VI,  Section  2.  Amendments :  Arti- 
cles I,  IX,  X,  XIII,  Section  7  ;  Article  XIV,  Section  7  ;  Article  XV, 
Section  1. 

References 

1 .  Lodge :  A  Short  History  of  the  English  Colonies  in  America ; 

Harper  and  Bros.,  N.Y. 

2.  Thwaites  :  The  Colonies  ;  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

3.  Fisher:  The  Colonial  Era ;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 

4.  Channing :  Students'  History  of  the  United  States ;  Macmillan 

&  Co.,  N.Y. 

5.  Sloane:  The  French  War  and  the  Revolution;  Scribner's  Sons, 

N.Y. 

6.  Fiske:  Beginnings   of  New   England.     Old  Virginia  and   Her 

Neighbors.     The  Middle  Colonies.    The  Critical  Period.     The 
Revolutionary  War ;  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  Boston. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  ENGLISH  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA     465 

7.  Walker:  The  Making  of  the  Nation  ;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 

8.  McMaster:  History  of  the  People  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  I ; 

Appleton  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

9.  Kemp:  Outline   of  History  for  Graded  and  District  Schools; 

Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston. 

Old  South  Leaflets :  Declaration  of  Independence,  Articles  of 
Confederation,  Ordinance  of  1787,  Constitution  of  the  United  States  ; 
Directors  of  Old  South  Work,  Boston,  Mass. 

Study  the  biographies  of  Winthrop,  John  Smith,  Roger  Williams, 
Penn,  Franklin,  Samuel  Adams,  John  Adams,  Patrick  Henry,  Hamil- 
ton, Jefferson,  Madison,  Marshall,  Washington. 


EIGHTH-GRADE  WORK 

The  chief  aim  of  the  eighth-grade  work  is  (i)  to  help  pupils  to 
see  how  the  consciousness  and  sentiment  of  union  gradually  grew 
in  the  minds  of  the  American  people  from  1789  —  when  they  began 
to  work  under  our  present  Constitution  —  to  1865 — when  it  was 
definitely  decided  by  the  Civil  War  that  our  government  is  in  reality 
an  indissoluble  Union,  and  (2)  to  see  the  cementing  of  the  different 
parts  of  the  nation  since  1865,  and  the  development  of  stronger  and 
broader  bonds  of  union  than  would  have  been  possible  without  the 
extinction  of  slavery.  The  pupil  should  be  led  to  see  and  feel  that 
the  government  under  which  he  lives,  by  developing  freedom  of 
religion,  freedom  of  labor,  freedom  of  the  press,  freedom  of  the 
ballot,  freedom  of  education,  and  by  prohibiting  titles  and  ranks  of 
nobility,  is  further  unfolding  and  preserving  for  posterity  the  pre- 
cious principles  and  ideas  which  he  has  seen  slowly  developing 
throughout  the  work  of  all  the  lower  grades ;  and  that,  since  the 
past  through  great  effort  and  sacrifice  has  bequeathed  to  him  these 
principles  of  liberty,  it  is  his  duty  as  a  student  of  history  to  enlarge 
and  develop  them  in  whatever  avenue  he  works,  by  carefully  pre- 
serving and  diffusing  these  liberties  among  his  fellow-men. 

Suggestions 

1.  Both  teacher  and  pupil  should  make  constant  use  of  the  Cod 
stitution  throughout  the  work  of  the  eighth  grade,  and  from  a  care- 
ful study  of  its  text,  the  pupil  should  be  led,  to  considerable  degree, 
to  reason  from  the  Constitutional  provisions  to  the  great  questions 
which  arose  in  our  history.  For  example  :  Had  Congress  a  right 
to  charter  a  United  States  Bank  ?  (See  Preamble  and  several  Pro- 
visions in  Article  I,  Section  8.)  Had  Congress  the  right  to  use  the 
public  money  to  make  internal  improvements  ?  (See  Preamble 
and  several  Provisions  in  Article  I,  Section  8.)     Had  Congress  the 

466 


EIGHTH-GRADE  WORK  467 

right  to  pass  the  Alien  and  Sedition  laws  ?  (See  First  Amendment 
to  the  Constitution.)  Ought  Congress  to  have  passed  the  Embargo 
Bill,  stopping  for  a  time  the  shipping  of  the  country  ?  (See  Article 
I.  Section  8,  Clause  3.)  Had  Congress  power  to  abolish  slavery  in 
the  public  territory  ?  (See  Article  IV,  Section  3,  Clause  2 ;  also 
Article  IV,  Section  4,  Clause  1.) 

2.  Assign  lessons  by  topics,  and  teach  pupils  how  to  use  refer- 
ence books  in  the  investigation  of  these  topics.  It  is  the  writer's 
experience  that  the  best  history  work  cannot  be  done  in  the  grades 
from  the  fourth  to  the  eighth  inclusive  without  well-selected  refer- 
ence books  both  for  teacher  and  pupils.  A  text-book  is,  as  its  title 
implies,  a  book  of  texts.  These  texts  should  be  greatly  enlarged 
upon  by  the  use  of  other  books. 

3.  At  times  have  pupils  to  write  upon  topics  and  afterwards 
discuss  the  same  orally  before  the  class, —  for  example,  such  topics 
as  those  given  above ;  or,  compare  and  contrast  the  advantages  of 
the  Atlantic  Slope  with  the  Mississippi  Valley  as  a  place  for  a  great 
civilization.  Present  the  arguments  both  for  and  against  the  Louisi- 
ana Purchase  of  1803.  Should  slavery  have  been  allowed  to  go  into 
the  public  land  west  of  the  Mississippi  ?  Should  the  negroes  have 
been  given  the  right  to  vote  as  soon  as  they  were  freed  ?  etc. 

4.  Good  history  work  is  impossible  without  constant  use  of  maps 
and  historical  atlases.  Climate,  soil,  rainfall,  rivers,  mountains, 
slopes,  harbors,  mineral,  plant  and  animal  productions  must  be  kept 
constantly  in  mind  in  order  to  explain  the  historical  development  of 
any  people  ;  and  this  is  especially  true  in  making  clear  to  pupils  the 
great  difference  between  the  institutions  of  the  North  and  those  of 
the  South  in  our  own  country  which  finally  led  to  the  Civil  War. 

5.  The  teacher  must  constantly  strive  to  lead  the  child  to  see 
and  feel  the  life  of  the  time  he  is  studying  by  use  of  map,  picture, 
illustrative  story,  reference  books,  and  by  skillfully  turning  the 
history  which  she  is  teaching  into  problems  to  be  imagined  and 
reasoned  upon.  The  pupil  is  thus  gradually  led  to  realize  that 
history  is  not  a  book,  but  the  struggling  life  of  humanity  out  in  the 
world;  and  that  to  study  history  is  not  merely  to  read  it  in  a  book 
but  rather  to  enter  heartily  into  the  struggle,  and  by  entering  into  it 
to  have  one's  life  enriched  and  constantly  transformed  into  a  higher 
and  finer  one  through  noble  service  to  others. 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   NATION 

i 789-1902 

We  have  now  come  to  a  time  when  the  American 
people  began  to  live  under  a  form  of  government  in 
some  particulars  different  from  any  ever  worked  out 
before.  This  was  a  federal  government,  providing  for 
two  great  things  :  first,  for  a  strong  independent  central 
power  deriving  its  authority  from  the  people;  and 
second,  for  strong  local  or  state  governments,  likewise 
deriving  their  powers  from  the  people.  It  was  thus  the 
desire  of  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  to  form  a 
government  in  which  the  states  should  work  harmoni- 
ously with  the  central  government,  like  many  little  cog- 
wheels working  in  one  great  central  wheel.1  Although 
we  found  the  English  government  to  be  the  freest  and 
best  developed  in  Modern  Europe,  yet,  in  the  hands  of 
a  selfish  king  like  George  III,  the  self-reliant  Anglo- 
Saxon  living  in  America  found  it  impossible  to  live 
under  it  and  enjoy  the  freedom  he  was  determined  to 
have.  The  central  power  under  the  English  king  grew 
too  strong,  and  hence,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Americans 
declared  themselves  independent,  manfully  gained  their 
independence  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  soon  after 
formed  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  hoping  thereby  to 

1  Const.,  Preamble  ;  Art.  IV,  Sect.  4;  Art.  VI,  Sect.  2;  Amendments, 
Arts.  IX,  X. 

468 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   NATION  469 

form  a  government  in  which  a  few  could  not  secure 
supreme  control  at  the  expense  of  the  liberties  of  the 
many.  But,  as  we  have  seen  in  our  study  in  the  seventh 
grade,  in  less  than  ten  years  of  trial  of  the  Articles, 
they  were  found  insufficient  to  give  the  Americans 
a  vital,  permanent  nation,  able  to  tax  its  citizens  and 
control  and  guarantee  the  liberties  of  its  people;  for, 
from  fear  of  too  strong  a  central  government,  the  fram- 
ers  of  the  Articles  had  gone  too  far  toward  the  opposite 
extreme  and  had  placed  the  real  power  in  the' hands  of 
the  states,  leaving  the  central  government  "  no  stronger 
than  a  rope  of  sand." 

From  this  experience  came  the  Constitution  of  1789. 
The  Articles  had  kept  the  idea  of  American  nationality 
alive  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  had  bridged  over 
the  interval  of  slow  national  growth  till  it  was  possible 
to  form  a  government  in  which  there  should  be  an  equal 
balance  between  state  and  nation,  and  in  which  the 
people  might  have  opportunity  to  develop  the  greatest 
possible  liberty.  Our  eighth-grade  work  consists  in  fol- 
lowing the  developing  national  life  of  the  American 
people  and  in  seeing  whether  the  Constitution  proved 
to  be  what  was  claimed  for  it.  Has  it  made  of  the 
American  people  one  great  free  nation,  instead  of  a 
number  of  jealous  independent  states  ? 

First  let  us  look  at  the  extent  of  our  country  in  1789. 
It  consisted  of  thirteen  states  stretching  along  the 
Atlantic  coast  from  the  territory  of  Florida,  which  at 
that  time  belonged  to  Spain,  to  the  line  dividing  Maine 
from  Canada,  and  included  the  great  stretch  of  territory 
extending  westward  from  these  states  to  the  Mississippi 
River.     It  was   by  and  for  the  people  living  in  these 


470  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

lands  that  the  Constitution  was  written  and  ratified.  It 
was  founded  upon  an  agreement  between  the  people  and 
was  itself  the  fundamental  law  by  which  they  were  to  be 
governed,  —  in  other  words,  a  set  of  rules  ordained  and 
established  by  themselves  as  the  source  of  authority  and 
to  which  they  must  yield  obedience;  and  henceforth,  when 
any  question  of  law  should  arise,  they  would,  through 
their  officers,  turn  to  these  rules  to  decide  what  to  do. 

The  United  States  became  a  nation  under  the  Consti- 
tution in  1788,  nine  states  having  ratified  it;  and  in  the 
following  year,  on  April  30,  1789,  General  Washington 
was  inaugurated  first  President  of  the  Republic.  Every 
one  knew  how  much  he  had  done  to  gain  the  independence 
of  the  colonies  and  to  cement  them  into  a  strong  nation  ; 
so  it  was  natural  that  the  universal  desire  should  have 
been  to  have  such  an  unselfish  patriot  placed  at  the  head 
of  affairs  to  set  the  new  governmental  machinery  going. 
At  the  end  of  his  first  term  (1793)  he  was  again  chosen 
President.  By  this  time,  however,  political  parties  were 
arising.     Let  us  see  how  this  came  about. 

There  were  many  who  opposed  the  ratification  of  the 
Constitution  when  it  was  placed  before  the  conventions 
in  the  several  states,  because  they  thought  it  gave  the 
central  government  too  much  power.  Now  that  the 
Constitution  had  been  adopted,  they  set  about  to  hold 
as  strictly  to  its  provisions  as  possible.  These  were 
called  Strict  Constructionists.  Those  who  had  favored 
and  worked  for  the  Constitution,  wanted  to  give  the 
central,  or  Federal,  government  a  great  deal  of  power ; 
that  is,  they  desired  to  interpret  the  provisions  of  the 
Constitution  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  authority  for  the 
central  government  to  do  much  toward  regulating  com- 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   NATION         471 

merce,  establishing  banks,  building  roads,  imposing  a 
protective  tariff  and  the  like.  These  were  called  Broad 
Constructionists. 

Of  course,  what  the  Constitution  did  or  did  not  allow 
was  a  matter  to  be  decided  in  the  first  place  by  the  Con- 
gress and  executive  officers  in  the  regular  performance 
of  their  work,  but  finally  by  the  Supreme  Court.  Thus 
there  came  to  be  two  parties  in  the  United  States  :  those 
who  were  in  favor  of  a  strong  Federal,  or  central,  gov- 
ernment, who  took  the  name  of  Federalists,  and  those 
who  were  opposed  to  a  strong  central  government,  who 
until  1 792  called  themselves  Anti-Federalists.  Although 
the  rise  of  these  parties  began  during  Washington's 
terms  of  office,  the  principles  which  they  advocated 
were  not  clearly  set  off  till  after  his  last  term,  for 
Washington  held  all  the  people  well  together  and  made 
up  his  Cabinet  of  advisers  from  men  of  both  parties. 

First,  he  chose  as  Secretary  of  State,  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, the  writer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and 
now  the  leader  of  the  Anti-Federalist  party.  For 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  he  chose  Alexander  Hamil- 
ton, as  ardent  a  Federalist  as  Jefferson  was  an  Anti- 
Federalist.  Besides  these,  he  appointed  Henry  Knox, 
a  Federalist,  Secretary  of  War,  and  Edmund  Randolph, 
an  Anti-Federalist,  Attorney-General.  Thus  Washing- 
ton's first  Cabinet  was  composed  of  two  Federalists  and 
two  Anti-Federalists.  With  these  especial  advisers  in 
each  department  of  the  government,  Washington  put 
in  motion  the  national  government  under  our  present 
Constitution. 

There  were  many  trying  questions  which  came  up 
during  Washington's   first   term  which  required  great 


472  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

insight  and  wisdom  for  settlement.  One  of  the  most 
perplexing  difficulties  was  the  providing  of  means  for 
paying  old  debts  contracted  during  the  Confederacy, 
and  for  paying  the  running  expenses  of  the  government. 
This  was  given  to  Hamilton  to  work  out  and  to  report 
his  plan  to  Congress.  Hamilton,  as  already  said,  was 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  He  had  from  the  first  been 
one  of  the  strongest  supporters  of  the  Constitution, 
and  now  began  to  put  life  into  it  by  showing  the 
entire  country  how  quickly  he  could  raise  taxes  under 
it  to  pay  the  outstanding  debts  of  the  country. 

Besides  our  debts  to  France  and  other  foreign  coun- 
tries, the  government  owed  a  great  deal  of  money  to 
Revolutionary  soldiers,  and  others,  who  had  lent  it 
money  to  carry  on  the  war.  But  the  government  had 
no  money  with  which  to  pay  debts,  so  Congress,  by  the 
advice  of  Hamilton,  passed  a  law,  taxing  certain  articles 
brought  into  and  sold  in  the  United  States,  and  the 
money  thus  obtained  was  used  to  pay  the  national  debt. 
In  this  way  a  tariff,  designed  mainly  for  revenue,  arose. 
Different  articles,  as  wine,  silk,  tea,  sugar,  etc.,  were 
taxed  when  they  were  shipped  into  the  country,  and 
the  money  obtained  was  turned  into  the  United  States 
Treasury.  But  the  government  had  also  another  way 
of  raising  money.  Besides  the  tax  on  foreign  goods 
brought  into  the  United  States,  taxes  were  laid  on  cer- 
tain articles  made  in  the  United  States,  as,  for  example, 
so  many  cents  per  gallon  on  whisky.  This  was  called 
an  internal  revenue  tax,  because  it  was  placed  on  articles 
made  in  our  own  country  for  home  consumption.  This 
tax  was  resisted  in  1 793  by  persons  who  were  distilling 
liquors   in   western    Pennsylvania,    but  it  was  forcibly 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE  NATION         473 

collected  by  government  officers.  By  examples  like 
these,  you  can  see  how  much  stronger  and  firmer  is 
the  hand  of  the  general  government  under  the  Con- 
stitution, in  all  these  money  matters,  than  it  was  under 
the  Articles  of  Confederation.  Millions  of  the  national 
debt  were  paid  during  Washington's  administrations 
through  Hamilton's  intelligent  guidance  of  financial 
affairs. 

Another  question  which  Washington  was  called  on 
to  settle  (1793)  was  what  our  relation  should  be  with 
England  and  France.  England  and  France  were  at 
this  time  at  war  with  each  other,  and  France  asked  the 
United  States  for  help,  while  England,  also,  was  equally 
desirous  of  getting  our  help.  Now,  although  France 
had  helped  win  American  independence,  and  had  still 
due  her  from  the  United  States  a  large  sum  of  money, 
Washington  knew  that  for  our  infant  Republic  to  engage 
then  in  foreign  war  would  endanger  the  government 
itself.  He  thus  refused  help,  issued  a  Proclamation  of 
Neutrality  as  between  France  and  England,  but  directed 
arrangements  to  be  made  at  once  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  for  paying  France  what  was  due  her. 
Here  the  strength  of  the  new  Republic  was  beginning 
to  show  itself  in  our  successful  and  independent  deal- 
ings with  foreign  nations. 

It  was  during  Washington's  term  also  that  the  national 
bank  was  created,  it  being  likewise  a  part  of  the  financial 
plan  of  Hamilton.  The  capital  of  the  bank  was  fixed  at 
ten  million  dollars,  of  which  the  government  owned  two 
million,  while  the  rest  was  held  by  the  people.  Ham- 
ilton saw  that  by  leading  the  people  to  become  interested 
in  a  national  bank,  they  would  also  become  interested 


474  SCHOOL    HISTORY 

in  the  national  government  which  created  the  bank. 
This  was  not  just  one  banking  house,  but  a  system  of 
banks,  with  its  center  in  Philadelphia,  and  sub-banks  or 
branches  in  other  cities.  The  number  of  banks  grew, 
as  the  number  and  size  of  cities  grew  throughout  the 
country.  The  collected  revenue  of  the  country  was  de- 
posited in  these  banks,  and  they  were  to  help  the  gov- 
ernment in  making  payments  to  government  officers, 
such  as  postmasters,  army  officers  and  soldiers,  all  over 
the  United  States.  The  charter,  or  law,  regulating  the 
bank  was  passed  by  Congress  in  1791,  for  twenty 
years.  It  would  thus  have  a  right  to  do  business  till 
181 1,  but  no  longer,  unless  Congress  at  that  time  should 
renew  the  charter.  In  1792  a  mint  was  established  at 
Philadelphia,  by  the  government,  for  the  making  of 
United  States  money  of  gold,  silver  and  copper ; *  and 
at  the  same  time,  Our  decimal  system  of  ten  mills  make 
one  cent,  ten  cents  one  dime,  etc.,  was  begun.  By 
means  of  the  bank  money  and  the  money  made  by  the 
mint  the  country  was  supplied  with  the  proper  means 
of  carrying  on  its  growing  business.  Placing  the  entire 
money  system  under  the  control  of  the  central  govern- 
ment made  it  vastly  superior  to  what  it  was  under  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  when  each  state  exercised 
the  power  to  make  its  own  money.  So  far,  things 
seem  to  be  moving  on  well  under  the  new  Constitu- 
tion. The  people  in  general  came  slowly  to  have  inter- 
est in  the  nation,  as  they  saw  it  bringing  peace,  order 
and  prosperity  to  them. 

The   fact   was,  the   country   was    not   only   growing 
richer  and  more  populous  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  but 

1  Constitution,  Art.  I,  Sect.  8,  Clause  5. 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   NATION         475 

it  was  extending  its  population  into  the  West.  The 
Constitution  provides  for  the  admission  of  new  states 
into  the  Union  by  Congress.1  During  the  early  years 
of  the  government  three  new  states,  Vermont  (1791), 
Kentucky  (1792),  and  Tennessee  (1796)  became  mem- 
bers of  the  Union.  This  shows  that  there  had  been 
emigration  westward.  Our  national  life  was  seeking 
new  territory  in  which  to  expand.  From  the  time  the 
first  settlers  stepped  upon  the  eastern  shore,  almost 
two  centuries  before,  they  had  slowly  pushed  westward. 
The  most  rapid  progress  was  made  in  the  northern  and 
middle  states.  With  their  liberal  ideas  of  institutions 
they  took  up  the  westward  march.  With  ax  and  gun  on 
shoulder,  and  the  ideal  of  a  free  republic  in  heart  and 
mind,  they  went  forth  into  the  Western  wilderness  to 
conquer  the  Indian  and  the  forest,  and  to  erect  therein 
free  states,  free  religions  and  free  schools.  It  has  been 
said  that  the  entire  history  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race 
is  that  of  an  ever-increasing  hunger  for  land.  No 
country  has  furnished  a  better  example  of  this  than 
our  own,  for  long  before  there  were  open  roads  west- 
ward, the  farmers  followed  the  hunter  through  the  moun- 
tain passes,  and  built  their  cabins  and  planted  their 
cornfields  and  tobacco  patches  in  the  wildernesses  of 
Ohio,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  First  came  the  fron- 
tiersmen, generally  on  pack  horses,  to  the  lands  which 
struck  their  fancy.  They  built  a  blockhouse,  without 
nails,  to  guard  themselves  from  the  Indians,  cultivated 
the  soil  with  rude  tools,  and  lived  by  the  products  of 
rifle  and  hoe.  This  liberty-loving  Teuton  was  repeating 
in    America,  with  much   the    same  tools,  what  he  had 

1  Const.,  Art.  IV,  Sects.  3  and  4.     Ordinance  '87,  Arts.  1  and  5. 


476  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

done  a  thousand  years  before  in  conquering  Europe. 
Later  on  came  emigrants  in  wagons.  The  hardy  New 
England  pioneer,  seeking  a  western  home,  would  stop 
his  horses  or  oxen  in  the  wilderness,  tumble  out  boxes 
and  barrels,  spade  and  ax,  and  set  about  building  a  rude 
shelter  for  his  family  and  animals.  This  done,  his  next 
task  was  to  clear  the  ground  and  prepare  for  his  first  crop. 
Very  soon  the  church  and  log  schoolhouse  followed ; 
and  it  was  not  long  till  the  newspaper  appeared  to  help 
break  the  monotony  of  his  isolated  life  and  shed  some 
rays  of  light  into  his  wilderness  home. 

Thus,  you  see,  as  the  states  on  the  Atlantic  slope 
grew  more  populous  the  western  territories  were  grad- 
ually being  filled  with  lusty,  vigorous  Teutonic  folk,  and 
admitted  to  the  Union  on  perfect  equality  with  the  old 
states.  Although  most  of  these  settlers  were  rough, 
they  took  with  them  the  ideas  of  organization.  So 
strong  is  the  American's  disposition  to  organize  and  live 
in  peace  and  order,  that  it  has  been  said,  if  a  number  of 
Americans  should  be  shipwrecked  on  an  uninhabited 
island,  the  first  thing  they  would  do  would  be  to  hold  a 
mass  meeting  and  elect  a  chairman  and  secretary.  It 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  then,  that  as  rapidly  as  the 
wilderness  fell  before  the  ax  of  the  frontiersman  the 
statehouse,  church,  schoolhouse  and  printing  press  rose 
in  his  tracks. 

At  the  close  of  his  second  term,  in  1797,  against  the 
desire  of  the  entire  country,  Washington  retired  to  his 
home  at  Mt.  Vernon,  Virginia,  where  two  years  later  he 
died.1      His  successor,   John   Adams,    had    been   Vice 

1  Study  Washington's  Farewell  Address.  The  address  may  be  obtained, 
5  cents  a  copy,  of  Directors  of  Old  South  Work,  Boston,  Mass. 


THE   DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE   NATION         477 

President  during  both  of  Washington's  administrations. 
In  the  autumn  of  1796  he  was  elected  President  by 
the  Federalists  over  Jefferson,  the  leader  of  the  Demo- 
cratic-Republicans (as  the  Anti- Federalists  were  called 
from  about  1792  to  1830).  According  to  the  Con- 
stitution at  that  time,1  the  candidate  for  President 
receiving  the  second  largest  number  of  votes  became 
Vice  President.  Jefferson  thus  became  Vice  President 
under  Adams.  Since  that  time,  however,  the  Constitu- 
tion has  been  changed  so  that  the  President  and  Vice 
President  are  voted  for  separately.2 

Adams  served  only  one  term,  and  his  administration 
is  marked  mainly  by  the  stand  taken  by  Kentucky  and 
Virginia  in  regard  to  some  laws  passed  by  Congress. 
The  United  States  was  having  trouble  with  France 
and  with  England  on  the  seas,  and  there  were  some 
Americans  who  wanted  to  bring  on  trouble  with  Eng- 
land by  helping  France,  while  others  wished  to  help 
England  against  France.  Because  this  help  was  not 
given  they  criticised  Congress  and  the  President,  prin- 
cipally by  writing  articles  in  the  newspapers.  So 
sharply  and  bitterly  did  the  Americans  side  with  one 
nation  or  the  other  that  a  foreigner  traveling  in  this 
country  at  that  time  said  that  he  found  here  many 
Englishmen  and  many  Frenchmen,  but  no  Americans. 
To  stop  this  criticism  two  laws  were  passed  by  Con- 
gress, called  the  Alien  and  Sedition  laws.  The  first 
gave  the  President  right  to  send  out  of  the  United 
States,  without  allowing  him  trial  in  court,  any  alien 
whom  he  thought  dangerous  to  the  country.  You  can 
easily  see  that  such  a  law  would  give  the  President  enor- 

1  Const.,  Art.  II,  Sect.  I,  Clauses  2  and  3.      2  Const.,  Amendments,  Art.  XII. 


478  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

mous  power  if  he  chose  to  exercise  it.  The  sedition 
law  provided  for  the  punishment  of  any  one  who  should 
speak,  write  or  publish  anything  false  or  abusive  of 
either  the  President  or  Congress.  While  the  first  law 
was  never  enforced,  under  the  latter  several  persons 
were  fined  and  one  was  imprisoned.  Very  many  people 
believed  these  laws  to  be  wrong,  for  the  first  Amendment 
to  the  Constitution  declares  that  the  government  shall 
have  no  right  to  interfere  with  the  freedom  of  speech  or 
of  the  press.  As  the  last  law  seemed  to  do  so,  it  was 
said  by  many  to  be  unconstitutional.1 

The  people  of  Virginia  and  Kentucky  went  so  far  as 
to  declare  in  their  legislatures,  that  Congress,  in  passing 
these  laws,  had  gone  beyond  the  powers  given  to  it  by 
the  people  of  the  states  when  they  formed  the  Consti- 
tution; that  such  legislation  was  consequently  without 
authority ;  and  that  the  people  of  these  states,  because 
of  the  powers  reserved  to  them  under  the  Constitution, 
would  be  justified  in  not  submitting  to  these  laws.  They 
believed  that  each  state  for  itself,  and  not  the  national 
Supreme  Court,  had  a  right  to  say  when  Congress  had 
gone  beyond  its  just  powers.  From  this  point  of  view 
the  continuance  of  the  Union  would  depend  upon  Con- 
gress exercising  no  power  which  the  states  individually 
believed  to  belong  to  themselves.  Out  of  these  ideas 
grew  the  doctrines  of  nullification  and  secession  in 
later  years.  The  alien  and  sedition  laws  were  opposed 
by  the  Democratic-Republicans  and  by  many  of  the 
Federalists ;  so,  as  soon  a&  Jefferson,  the  great  leader 
of  the  Democratic-Republican  party,  became  President, 
in  1 80 1,  they  were  repealed,  —  that  is,  set  aside  by  Con- 

1  Const.,  Amendments,  Arts.  I  and  VI. 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   NATION         479 

gress.  The  Federalist  party  had  now  (1801)  been  in 
power  twelve  years,  and  had  done  great  service  in  firmly 
establishing  the  national  government  at  home,  and  giving 
it  credit  and  dignity  abroad.  But  the  people,  believing 
the  Federalists  were  tending  toward  despotism  in  pass- 
ing the  alien  and  sedition  laws,  voted  that  party  out, 
and  the  Democratic-Republicans  became  in  1801  the 
ruling  party.  They  now,  however,  shortened  their  name 
to  that  of  Republican  party.  So  from  this  time,  down 
to  about  1825,  this  party  was  known  as  the  Republican 
party,  while  the  opposing  one,  down  to  18 15,  was  known 
as  the  Federal  party. 

When  Washington  became  President  the  national 
capital  was  New  York  City.  In  1790  the  capital  was 
removed  to  Philadelphia,  where  it  remained  until  1800, 
when  it  was  changed  to  Washington.  Many  objected  at 
that  time  to  having  it  so  far  west,  for  they  had  no  idea 
that  the  United  States  would  ever  spread  to  the  west  as 
it  has.  But  in  1803  this  narrow  notion  of  national 
growth  began  to  change  when  Jefferson,  urged  forward 
by  the  desires  of  the  people  who  had  settled  the  west- 
ern wilderness,  bought  from  France  for  fifteen  million 
dollars  the  Louisiana  Territory.  By  this  purchase  the 
United  States  secured  all  the  territory  between  Texas  and 
Canada  and  westward  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  an  area 
of  over  six  hundred  million  acres,  at  a  cost  of  two  and 
one-half  cents  per  acre.  It  is  interesting  and  important 
to  note  that  this  great  leader  of  the  Republicans,  Jeffer- 
son, who  had  up  to  this  time  maintained  that  the  general 
government  should  do  nothing  but  what  the  Constitution 
said  plainly  in  so  many  words  it  might  do,  here  acted 
upon  the  theory  of  the  Federalists  rather  than  that  of 
the  party  to  which  he  belonged,  since  the  Constitution 


480  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

nowhere  says  expressly  that  the  general  government  may 
buy  foreign  land.  The  far-reaching  effects  of  the  pur- 
chase can  hardly  be  appreciated,  for  it  not  only  gave  the 
people  of  the  United  States  possession  of  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi  River,  so  that  they  could  freely  ship 
their  western  corn,  wheat,  pork,  tobacco  and  cotton  out 
to  foreign  countries,  but  it  also  gave  them  the  western 
half  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  —  so  broad,  fertile,  abun- 
dantly watered,  so  rich  in  minerals  and  so  temperate  in 
climate  as  to  lead  the  great  Humboldt  to  call  it  "  the 
noblest  valley  in  the  world." 

There  could  have  been  no  better  time  for  such  a  pur- 
chase. The  United  States  was  again  in  trouble  with 
France  and  England,  both  of  which  still  continued  the 
war  with  each  other  which  had  been  going  on  most  of  the 
time  'for  ten  years ;  and  since,  as  warring  powers,  they 
greatly  interfered  with  our  commerce  by  capturing  our 
trading  ships  as  they  crossed  the  ocean,  Congress  passed 
a  law,  called  an  embargo,  barring,  as  it  were,  our  ships  in 
their  harbors  and  completely  stopping  for  a  time  our 
trade  with  all  foreign  countries.  This  destroyed  a  great 
shipping  industry  which  had  sprung  up  on  the  Atlantic 
and  threw  many  people  out  of  employment.  Thus,  just 
at  the  time  when  the  eastern  door  of  commerce  —  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  —  was  closed  to  labor  the  western  door 
to  vast  virgin  fields  was  thrown  open  to  invite  laborers 
to  cheap  western  lands.  Already  settlers  dotted  the 
wilderness  back  to  the  Mississippi,  especially  along  the 
streams.  These  self-reliant  people  made  their  way 
down  the  western  slope  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains 
into  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and,  as  already  said, 
soon  came  to  have  more  grain  and  stock  than  they  could 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   NATION         48 1 

themselves  use.  What  every  western  farmer,  land 
owner  and  townsman  felt  the  need  of  was  an  outlet  for 
his  surplus  crops.  They  could  not  haul  their  wheat  and 
corn  and  pork  and  beef  and  wool  from  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  valleys  eastward,  for  there  were  as  yet  no 
good  roads  binding  the  great  central  valley  to  the  At- 
lantic coast  cities. 

To  meet  this  need  came  first  the  flatboat,  and  soon 
every  stream  was  alive  with  boats  bearing  the  western 
harvest  down  the  current  into  the  Mississippi  and  then 
down  to  New  Orleans,  from  which  port  they  made  their 
way  up  to  the  Atlantic  coast  states,  to  the  West  Indies, 
and  to  countries  across  the  sea.  It  was  a  long  route,  but 
the  best  that  could  be  had  until  roads  could  be  built  from 
the  Atlantic  coast  back  westward  over  mountain  and 
river,  and  through  marsh  and  forest.  The  flatboat  not 
only  carried  products  out,  but  it  brought  thousands  of 
settlers  in.  It  had,  however,  one  great  disadvantage,  — 
while  it  could  with  ease  go  down  stream  with  the  current, 
it  was  almost  impossible  for  it  to  make  way  against  the 
current  and  ascend  the  stream. 

This  difficulty  began  to  be  remedied  in  1807,  for  in 
that  year  Robert  Fulton  first  applied  steam  to  a  boat  in 
such  a  way  as  to  turn  a  large  paddle  wheel  in  the  water 
and  move  the  boat,  even  against  the  current.  With  this 
invention  came  other  great  migrations  of  emigrants  from 
the  East  to  the  West.  Within  a  short  time  steamboats 
began  to  appear  on  every  important  river ;  and  now  that 
Louisiana  was  a  part  of  the  national  territory,  boats 
began  to  push  rapidly  up  the  western  rivers,  carrying 
the  hunter  and  trapper,  the  trader  and  farmer,  and  re- 
turned loaded  with  wheat,  pork,  tobacco,  wool  and  corn. 


482  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

Jefferson's  two  terms  as  President  (1 801-1809)  covered 
a  period  of  growth  and  prosperity,  but  our  trouble  with 
France  and  England,  chiefly  concerning  commerce  on 
the  seas,  had  not  yet  been  settled  ;  so  from  the  date 
when  James  Madison  became  President  (1809)  it  was 
only  three  years  until  the  United  States  was  at  war  with 
England.  We  have  seen  how  England  and  France, 
interfering  with  the  commerce  of  the  United  States, 
had  led  Congress  to  pass  the  Embargo  Act.  In  addi- 
tion to  seizing  our  ships  at  sea,  England  insisted  upon 
the  right  to  search  American  vessels  for  British  sailors. 
Chiefly  for  these  things  the  United  States  went  to  war 
with  England  in  1812.  The  war  was  opposed  by  the 
Federalists,  especially  by  the  shippers  in  New  England, 
who  found  their  remaining  trade  ruined  and  their  sea- 
port towns  attacked  by  the  British.  But  Madison  and 
the  Republican  party  kept  up  the  war,  and  hoped  to  con- 
quer Canada  and  annex  it  to  the  United  States.  An  army 
was  sent  by  Madison  to  undertake  this,  but  the  attempt 
ended  in  utter  failure.  Although  unsuccessful  on  land, 
the  Americans  did  better  on  the  sea ;  and  not  alone 
there,  they  also  won  great  naval  victories  on  Lakes  Erie 
and  Champlain,  and  thus  prevented  the  invasion  of  the 
United  States  from  Canada  by  water.  The  war  was 
brought  to  an  end  in  181 5  by  a  treaty  with  England,  but 
before  the  news  could  travel  to  America  (there  were  no 
Atlantic  cables  then)  a  great  victory  on  land  was  won 
by  the  Americans.  The  British  attacked  New  Orleans, 
which  was  defended  by  Andrew  Jackson  with  an  army 
half  the  size  of  the  British  force.  The  English  were 
very  badly  defeated  and  soon  news  of  peace  stopped 
further  action. 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   NATION         483 

Meanwhile,  the  New  England  Federalists  (the  chief 
shippers  of  the  country)  had  grown  dissatisfied,  on  ac- 
count of  the  war  stopping  their  shipbuilding  and  com- 
merce; and  having  called  a  convention  at  Hartford, 
they  framed  in  it  some  propositions,  identical  in  spirit 
and  principle  with  the  Virginia  and  Kentucky  Resolu- 
tions, which  they  desired  to  have  passed  as  Amendments 
to  the  Constitution.  They  asked,  among  other  things,  to 
be  allowed  to  defend  themselves  against  attacks  on  their 
coast,  and  also  to  retain  a  portion  of  the  Federal  taxes 
for  this  purpose.  Thus,  the  Federalists  —  the  original 
strong  central  government  party  —  were  here  opposing 
the  actions  of  the  central  government,  and  seeking  to 
enlarge  the  powers  of  the  states.  Some  of  the  New 
England  states  have  been  accused,  but  probably  un- 
justly, of  having  intentions  of  withdrawing  from  the 
Union  at  this  time.  However,  before  the  delegates  of 
the  Hartford  convention  reached  Washington  to  bring 
the  propositions  before  Congress,  peace  between  the 
United  States  and  England  was  declared  (181 5). 

While  there  seemed  to  be  very  little  in  the  treaty  of 
peace  favorable  to  the  United  States,  England  never 
again  attempted  to  interfere  with  American  commerce  or 
to  search  American  vessels  for  seamen  accused  of  desert- 
ing from  the  English  naval  service.  The  war  had  also 
another  great  influence :  as  it  stopped  New  England 
shipping,  for  a  time  people  turned  to  other  means  of 
making  a  living.  With  their  great  advantage  of  swift 
streams,  giving  unlimited  power  for  turning  wheels,  New 
England  was  especially  suited  for  carrying  on  manu- 
facturing; hence  mills  sprang  up  there,  and  manufac- 
turing rapidly  became  their  leading  industry. 


484  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

As  soon  as  the  war  was  ended,  and  trade  was  re- 
sumed with  England,  English  merchants  began  sending 
great  quantities  of  manufactured  goods  to  the  United 
States.  Being  new  in  the  work,  and  having  to  pay  a 
higher  price  for  labor  than  the  English  paid,  the  Ameri- 
can manufacturer  could  not  make  goods  as  cheaply  as 
the  English ;  and  as  the  English  were  thus  enabled  to 
undersell  them,  the  Americans  feared  that  their  business 
would  be  ruined.  To  prevent  this  they  sent  representa- 
tives to  Congress,  who  asked  that  a  heavy  tax  be  placed  on 
imported  goods,  so  that,  by  the  time  the  English  import- 
ers paid  this  tax  they  could  not  afford  to  sell  so  cheaply 
as  the  American  makers  could.  As  I  have  already  said, 
manufacturing  had  grown  greatly  during  the  past  few 
years,  and  seeing  that  this  industry  must  be  weakened,  if 
not  destroyed,  unless  a  higher  tariff  were  imposed,  Con- 
gress consented  to  tax  imported  goods  in  order  to  pro- 
tect the  home  industry.  In  this  way  arose  the  first 
protective  tariff.  As  you  have  already  seen,  a  tariff  had 
been  placed  upon  imported  goods  as  early  as  Washing- 
ton's first  term,  but  it  was  a  low  tax,  and  mainly 
intended  to  raise  revenue  for  the  expense  of  the  govern- 
ment. The  tariff  of  18 16  had  for  its  main  purpose  the 
protection  of  goods  produced  in  our  own  country. 

Madison,  having  served  two  terms,  retired  to  his 
landed  estates  at  Montpellier,  Virginia,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  James  Monroe,  a  Republican,  who  was  also 
President  for  two  terms  (1817-1825).  It  was  during 
this  time  that  he  and  his  able  Secretary  of  State,  John 
Quincy  Adams,  gave  to  America  what  is  called  the 
Monroe  Doctrine.  Spain's  South  American  colonies 
having  rebelled,   Monroe   warned   the    Holy    Alliance, 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE  NATION         485 

consisting  of  Russia,  Prussia,  Austria  and  France,  from 
assisting  Spain  in  reconquering  her  colonies.  He  said, 
while  America  was  determined  not  to  interfere  with 
affairs  abroad,  she  was  equally  determined  to  allow  no 
interference  by  the  Holy  Alliance  in  American  affairs ; 
nor  would  the  United  States,  he  said,  permit  foreign 
nations  to  colonize  any  longer  on  the  American  con- 
tinents. The  Spanish  colonies  were  driven  to  their 
struggle  for  liberty  by  Spain's  despotic  rule  over  them, 
and  they  were,  no  doubt,  greatly  stimulated  to  struggle 
for  freedom  by  the  example  of  free  government  which 
they  saw  developing  so  well  in  the  United  States. 

So  far  we  have  said  nothing  of  what  was  rapidly  com- 
ing to  be  the  most  important  question  to  the  American 
nation,  namely,  the  question  of  slavery.  We  know,  from 
our  studies  in  the  seventh  grade,  of  its  introduction  in 
America  in  16 19;  let  us  now  briefly  trace  its  growth. 
From  the  natural  differences  between  the  northern  and 
southern  parts  of  the  United  States,  the  two  sections 
came  to  hold  very  different  views  on  the  subject.  We 
must  now  see  the  views  of  both,  and  why  each  held  the 
view  it  did.  First,  as  to  the  North.  The  negro  slave, 
being  held  in  the  most  complete  ignorance,  was  fit  for 
no  kind  of  labor  except  that  which  he  could  do  with  his 
hands.  This  was  not  the  kind  of  work  in  the  main  the 
North  had  to  do.  We  have  already  seen  that  the  soil 
of  the  North  (or  what  was  the  settled  North)  was  fairly 
well  suited  for  farming ;  but  instead  of  large  farms,  they 
were  moderate  in  size,  and  the  crops,  especially  in  New 
England,  had  to  be  frequently  rotated,  which  required 
intelligent  supervision  and  care.  Other  laborers,  except 
farmers,  were  largely  engaged   in  manufacturing  and 


486  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

trade,  and  it  requires  education  to  successfully  carry  on 
both  of  these  kinds  of  labor.  Thus  it  came  about  that 
the  ignorant  negro  could  be  used  to  little  profit  in  the 
North.  This,  together  with  the  fact  that  the  North, 
on  account  of  her  small  farms  and  many  kinds  of  labor, 
could  not  have  great  gangs  of  slaves  working  under  one 
overseer,  were  the  chief  reasons  why  the  North  had  few 
slaves,  and  by  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century 
began  to  want  to  get  rid  of  what  she  had.  Also,  some 
people  were  coming  to  think  it  was  morally  wrong  to 
enslave  men  and  women  just  because  they  were  ignorant 
and  black.  We  have  already  seen,  in  the  seventh-grade 
work,  something  of  the  plain,  hard-working,  liberty- 
loving  people  of  the  North,  with  their  free  schools,  free 
churches  and  free  press.  It  was  these  things  which 
slowly  inspired  them  with  higher  ideas  of  justice  and 
right  and  caused  them  to  wish  slavery  abolished  from 
their  midst.  During  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury some  of  the  people  of  the  North  and  a  few  of  the 
South  had  been  doing  what  they  could  for  the  freedom 
of  the  slave.  When  laws  were  passed  for  the  Northwest 
Territory,  called  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  it  was  plainly 
stated  that  slavery  should  not  be  allowed  there.1  By 
the  Constitution  it  was  practically  agreed  to  allow  no 
more  slaves  to  be  shipped  into  the  states  from  foreign 
countries  after  1808,2  and  it  was  left  to  the  original  states 
to  decide  for  themselves  whether  or  not  they  would 
continue  slavery  within  their  borders.  Many  were  com- 
ing to  .dislike  slavery  so  much  that  by  the  time  of  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  all  of  the  northern 'states 
except   New  York   and    New   Jersey   had   freed   their 

1  Ordinance  of  1787,  Art.  6.  2  Const.,  Art.  I,  Sect.  9,  Clause  1. 


THE   DEVELOPMENT    OF   THE   NATION         487 

slaves ;  while  even  in  the  South  many  states  had  almost 
if  not  quite  stopped  the  slave  trade  with  Africa  and 
between  the  states. 

As  already  said,  this  great  movement  against  slavery 
in  the  North  was  only  one  of  the  channels  in  which 
their  great  ideas  of  freedom  and  progress  were  expand- 
ing. Freedom  was  also  growing  in  the  Church,  for 
most  of  the  states  by  1820  had  granted  entire  religious 
freedom  in  their  constitutions.  The  free  school  and 
free  press  were  not  far  behind  the  hunter,  trapper  and 
farmer  as  they  moved  forward  on  the  westward  march. 

In  the  South  geographical  conditions  were  different 
from  those  of  the  North.  There,  agriculture  was  the 
principal  occupation.  There,  great  gangs  of  slaves 
tended  vast  plantations.  The  great  self-reliant  middle 
class,  which  constituted  the  backbone  of  the  North,  was 
largely  wanting  in  the  Southland  in  its  place  was  the 
"  poor  white  class,"  as  ignorant  as  the  negro  and  often 
more  criminal.  The  members  of  this  class  are  not  to 
be  confused  with  the  vagrants  and  idlers  called  by  the 
negroes  "yo'  white  trash"  after  the  emancipation,  but 
they  were  the  poor  and  non-slaveholding  whites  who 
were  renters,  mechanics  and  overseers.  While  many 
in  the  South  realized  that  slavery  was  an  evil,  they  did 
not  see  how  to  emancipate  their  slaves  without  ruining 
themselves.  As  tobacco,  cotton  and  rice  were  the  main 
products  of  the  southern  states,  the  Southerners  were 
anxious  to  have  slavery  extended.  For  the  cultivation 
of  these  products,  large  farms  were  needed ;  and  as  the 
products  were  hard  on  the  soil,  it  was  necessary  to  move 
westward  to  obtain  new  soil,  in  place  of  that  worn-out. 
This  led  the  southern  planter  with  his  slaves  across  the 


488  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

Appalachians,  first  through  Alabama  and  Mississippi, 
and  then  across  the  river  into  Louisiana,  Arkansas, 
Missouri  and  Texas. 

Slaves  had  likewise  become  much  more  profitable  in 
the  South  since  1793.  Until  that  time,  of  the  three 
products  named,  tobacco  had  been  the  most  valuable, 
because  rice  grew  only  in  the  marshy  country  near  the 
coast,  and  it  was  expensive  and  slow  work  to  separate 
the  cotton  fiber  from  the  seed,  since  a  negro  working 
all  day  could  clean  but  a  single  pound.  But  in  1793 
Whitney  invented  a  machine  called  a  gin  (or  engine) 
for  cleaning  cotton,  which  would  clean  as  much  in  a 
day  as  a  thousand  negroes.  From  this  time  its  culti- 
vation rapidly  increased,  and  it  soon  became  the  most 
important  southern  product.  With  its  ignorant  negro 
population,  and  with  the  little  flow  of  money  into  south- 
ern industry,  it  was  impossible  for  the  South  to  grow 
as  the  North  did.  There  was  not  scattered  over  the 
southern  plantations  a  class  of  white  children  thirsting 
for  knowledge  and  free  schools,  as  there  was  in  the 
shops  and  on  the  farms  of  the  North.  In  the  South 
were  but  few  intelligent  white  laborers  developing  manu- 
factories and  trade,  and  building  towns  and  cities ;  few 
towns  and  cities  made  few  roads,  few  banks,  few  printing 
presses,  few  newspapers,  few  books  and  comparatively 
few  cultivated  people.  Moreover,  the  conditions  of  slave 
life  do  not  permit  of  general  education  and  culture. 
Slaves  were  sometimes  taught  by  the  southern  mistresses 
to  read  and  write,  and  they  were  allowed  to  attend 
church  on  Sundays ;  still,  for  the  most  part,  the  slave 
population  remained  ignorant  and  superstitious.  The 
South  thought  just  after  the  close  of  the  War  of  181 2 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  NATION         489 

that  it  might  build  up  factories  as  the  North  had  done,  and 
it  was,  therefore,  in  favor  of  a  tariff ;  but  it  soon  found 
that  though  ignorant  labor  may  hoe  cotton  and  tobacco, 
it  cannot  set  type,  run  engines  or  manage  factories. 

The  condition  of  the  slave  in  the  South  was,  on  the 
whole,  a  very  hopeless  and  hard  one.  Grouped  with 
many  others  under  an  overseer,  he  hoed  the  tobacco,  or 
worked  in  the  cotton,  rice  or  cane  field  and  received 
no  more  than  would  keep  him  well  fed  and  clothed. 
He  was  considered  as  human  property,  and  could  be, 
and  often  was,  bought  and  sold.  He  had  no  rights 
of  his  own  and  generally  owned  no  property.  His 
condition  was  probably  hardest  in  the  rice  fields.  Rice 
culture  requires  low  wet  ground  which  can  be  flooded, 
and  which  therefore  becomes  very  unhealthy  as  a  place 
of  labor.  There  the  negro  worked  among  the  swamps 
and  insects  in  the  malarial  regions  along  the  south- 
ern shores.  In  the  hoeing  season  the  slaves  worked 
grouped  abreast.  The  men  wore  broad-brimmed  hats, 
the  women,  head-kerchiefs.  Each  carried  in  his  mouth 
a  stick,  on  the  end  of  which  was  a  piece  of  burning  punk 
made  from  the  heart  of  the  oak  tree ;  the  smoke  from 
this  drove  away  the  sand  flies,  which  would  otherwise 
have  driven  him  almost  wild.  This  condition  of  labor 
made  it  impossible  for  the  South  to  keep  pace  with 
northern  growth;  and  this  fact  was  seen  by  some  of 
the  wiser  men  of  the  South  in  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  But  the  southern  institutions  were 
so  rooted  in  slavery  that  the  southerners  generally 
thought  that  to  destroy  slavery  would  be  to  destroy 
the  foundation  upon  which  all  their  civilization  rested. 
Hence  the  southern  planter  lost  no  opportunity  to  push 


490  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

slavery  into  western  territory  and  have  it  carved  into 
and  admitted  as  slave  states.  By  doing  this  he  hoped 
to  hold  equal  representation  with  the  North  in  Congress, 
especially  in  the  Senate  (there  being  two  senators  from 
each  state),1  and  thus  prevent  Congress  from  making 
unfavorable  laws  concerning  the  abolition  of  slavery,  as 
more  and  more  of  the  people  of  the  North  were  begin- 
ning to  wish  done.  Thus,  as  northern  states  were 
admitted  with  free  constitutions,  the  South  managed 
to  have  southern  states  admitted  with  constitutions 
recognizing  slavery.  By  looking  at  the  map  of  the 
United  States  you  will  see  how  this  was.  Thus,  after 
Vermont  was  admitted  as  a  free  state  in  1791,  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee  were  admitted  with  slavery  in  1792  and 
1796  respectively.  This  made  the  slave  and  free  states 
equal  in  power  in  the  Senate. 

So  the  movement  westward  into  the  Mississippi  Valley 
went  on  both  in  the  North  and  in  the  South.  The  result 
was  the  rapid  settlement  of  western  territories  and  their 
admission  to  the  Union.  Louisiana,  being  finely  adapted 
to  the  growth  of  rice  and  sugar-cane,  was  admitted  in 
1812,  slave;  Indiana  in  18 16,  free;  Mississippi  in  18 17, 
slave;  Illinois  in  1818,  free;  Alabama  in  18 19,  slave: 
Maine  in  1820,  free;  Missouri  in  1821,  slave.  Notice 
that  in  the  admission  of  states  the  number  of  free  and 
slave  states  remained  equal.  In  1820  there  were  twenty- 
two  states  in  the  Union,  —  eleven  free  and  eleven  slave. 
Notice  also  that  the  boundary  between  the  free  and 
slave  states  was  the  southern  and  western  boundary  of 
Pennsylvania  to  the  Ohio,  and  then  down  that  river  to 
the  Mississippi.     With  the  exception  of  Louisiana  all 

1  Const.,  Art.  I,  Sect.  3,  Clause  1. 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  NATION         491 

this  territory  thus  far  admitted  was  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  it  had  not  been  decided  by  Congress  whether 
or  not  slavery  should  be  allowed  to  extend  beyond  that 
boundary. 

Soon  after  the  War  of  18 12  many  emigrants  from  both 
North  and  South,  on  account  of  the  land  being  more 
expensive  east  of  the  Mississippi,  had  crossed  over  and 
settled  on  the  Missouri  River.  Their  number  rapidly 
increased  as  travel  became  more  easy  and  safe  both  on 
the  rivers  and  on  the  National  road  which  the  general 
government  was  building  piecemeal  from  year  to  year 
through  the  great  West.  In  1820  those  who  had  settled 
in  Missouri  territory  asked  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union 
as  a  state.  As  many  slave-owners  from  the  southern 
states  had  moved  into  this  territory,  they  wished  Missouri 
to  be  admitted  as  a  slave  state ;  but  the  North,  being  anx- 
ious to  restrict  the  growth  of  slavery,  thought  if  it  were 
possible  to  prevent  slavery  from  moving  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, it  might  be  possible  at  a  later  date  to  do  away  with 
it  in  the  entire  Union.  The  struggle  which  arose  in  Con- 
gress was  a  sharp  one,  the  South  being  determined  to 
carry  slavery  west  of  the  Mississippi ;  for  since  Maine,  in 
1820,  desired  to  enter  the  Union  as  a  free  state,  the  South 
felt  that  it  was  necessary  to  have  Missouri  admitted  as 
a  slave  state  in  order  that  she  might  hold  equal  power 
with  the  North  in  the  Senate.  Thus  you  see  the  United 
States  was  rapidly  becoming  divided  into  two  sections  — 
one  with  its  institutions  based  on  slavery,  the  other  with 
its  institutions  as  firmly  rooted  in  freedom.  After  much 
debate  a  compromise  was  agreed  upon,  which  provided 
that  Missouri  should  be  admitted  as  a  slave  state,  but 
that  ever  afterward  all  states  formed  from  the  Louisiana 


492  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

territory  lying  north  of  360  30'  north  latitude  should 
be  free.  This  was  called  the  Missouri  Compromise,  and 
its  chief  supporter  was  Henry  Clay,  who  was  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  the  State  of  Ken- 
tucky. 

The  slavery  question  in  the  new  states  now  rested  for 
near  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  tariff  and  the  building 
of  roads  by  the  general  government  became  the  leading 
questions  in  the  next  administration.  This  was  the  ad- 
ministration of  John  Q.  Adams,  who  was  elected  by  the 
National  Republican  party  in  1825  and  served  to  1829. 
The  Federalist  party,  having  become  ashamed  of  its 
unwillingness  to  support  the  general  government  during 
the  War  of  18 12,  had  dropped  its  name,  but  kept  the 
old  principles  of  a  strong  central  government,  advocating 
a  protective  tariff,  a  United  States  Bank,  and  internal 
improvements  by  the  national  government.  It  called 
itself  "  National  Republican"  till  about  1832,  and  then 
took  the  name  "Whig,"  which  it  held  till  it  took  the 
name  "Republican  party"  in  1856.  The  strongest 
opponent  of  Adams  was  Jackson,  the  hero  of  New 
Orleans.  Jackson  was  a  supporter  of  the  principles  of 
Jefferson,  but  he  was  especially  the  leader  of  the  new 
self-reliant  spirit  which  was  now  rapidly  growing  up  in 
the  West. 

In  the  last  year  of  Adams's  administration  a  tariff 
bill  was  passed,  which  to  the  South  seemed  very  unjust, 
as  they  had  now  come  to  see  that  their  dream  of  develop- 
ing manufactures  could  not  be  realized.  Five  southern 
legislatures  protested  against  the  tariff  law,  and  South 
Carolina  threatened  to  disobey  it,  holding  strongly  to 
the  idea  of  the  right  of  a  state  to  withdraw  from  the 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF   THE  NATION         493 

Union  if  the  general  government  passed  a  law  which  the 
state  thought  contrary  to  the  Constitution,  which  requires 
uniform  duties  throughout  the  United  States.  They 
looked  for  relief  to  the  new  President.  This  was  Jack- 
son, who  was  elected  for  two  terms  (1 829-1 837).  But 
the  South  did  not  find  the  hoped  for  relief.  Although 
the  new  Congress  did,  by  separate  bills,  reduce  the  tariff 
in  the  bill  of  1828,  still  a  protective  tariff  was  retained 
which  the  South,  and  especially  South  Carolina,  con- 
sidered very  unjust,  as  it  greatly  aided  the  manufacturing 
North  while  it  bore  heavily  on  the  agricultural  South. 

Led  by  her  great  states'  rights  defender,  John  C. 
Calhoun,  who  was  at  the  time  a  United  States  senator, 
South  Carolina  refused  to  obey  the  tariff  law.  It  was 
declared  of  no  effect  in  that  state  in  1832.  This  was 
nullification.  It  meant  that  those  who  believed  in 
states'  rights  held  that  whether  or  not  Congress  had 
a  right  to  pass  any  given  law  was  to  be  decided  by  each 
individual  state;  and  if  a  state  concluded  that  Con- 
gress was  exercising  power  not  given  it  in  the  Constitu- 
tion, it  might  nullify  the  law,  —  that  is,  refuse  to  obey 
it.  But  the  President  took  prompt  steps  to  prevent  nul- 
lification and  to  enforce  the  law.  Congress  gave  him 
the  power  to  do  this  in  what  was  called  the  Force  Bill ; 
and,  at  the  same  time,  through  the  efforts  of  Henry 
Clay,  passed  a  compromise  tariff  bill.  South  Carolina 
greatly  disliked  the  Force  Bill,  but,  in  response  to  the 
compromise  tariff  measure,  it  repealed  its  Ordinance 
of  Nullification.  With  this  compromise  the  doctrine  of 
nullification  slumbered  till  the  Civil  War  (1861-1865) 
brought  it  forward  under  the  claim  of  the  right  of  a 
state  to  secede  from  the  Union, 


494  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

Along  with  the  great  industrial  growth  of  the  country 
came  means  for  increasing  the  amount  of  money  so  that 
business  of  all  kinds  might  be  more  easily  carried  on. 
We  have  already  seen  how  the  national  banking  sys- 
tem was  established  by  Hamilton  during  Washington's 
first  term.  The  charter  for  the  bank,  granted  in  1791 
for  twenty  years,  expired  in  181 1.  Congress  failing  to 
recharter  the  bank,  there  was  no  United  States  bank- 
ing system  carried  on  between  181 1  and  18 16.  But  in 
the  latter  year  the  Republican  party,  which  originally 
opposed  the  bank,  rechartered  it  for  another  term  of 
twenty  years,  with  a  capital  stock  of  thirty-five  million 
dollars.  It  had  shown  itself  an  excellent  institution  for 
helping  forward  the  financial  affairs  of  the  country. 
But  President  Jackson  thought  it  was  a  rich,  undemo- 
cratic institution,  which  tended  to  oppress  the  common 
people  and  help  the  richer  classes,  and  that  it  was 
badly  managed.  So  in  1832,  when  a  bill  was  passed  by 
Congress  and  presented  to  the  President,  asking  for  a 
continuation  of  its  charter,  Jackson  vetoed  it.  The  de- 
posits of  the  United  States,  that  is,  the  money  which 
had  come  to  the  general  government  chiefly  through 
the  tariff,  internal  revenue  and  sale  of  public  lands, 
which  had  been  placed  in  the  various  branches  of  the 
United  States  Bank,  were  withdrawn  by  the  Federal 
authorities,  and  the  surplus  funds  of  the  government 
were  loaned  to  the  states  in  1837.  From  1836  to  1863 
there  was  no  United  States  banking  system.  But  in 
this  period  hundreds  of  banks,  chartered  by  the  states 
and  having  little  capital,  sprang  up  all  over  the  country. 
These  were  often  called  wild-cat  banks,  since  they  sprang 
up  like  wild-cats,  as  it  were,  so  quickly,  often  almost  in 


THE   DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  NATION         495 

the  woods.  They  issued  much  paper  money,  which, 
because  it  had  little  or  no  gold  or  silver  behind  it,  soon 
became  practically  worthless,  caused  business  to  become 
very  unsettled,  many  to  lose  their  property,  and  was  a 
chief  cause  of  the  panic  of  1837. 

in  182 1,  after  the  great  compromise  which  allowed 
slavery  to  cross  the  Mississippi  and  enter  Missouri, 
people  said  that  the  slavery  question  in  the  United  States 
was  settled  for  all  time,  but  about  1845  it  began  to  come 
forward  again.  At  the  North  many  were  determined 
never  to  rest  until  slavery  was  abolished  from  the  Union. 
Foremost  among  these  was  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  of 
Boston,  who  published  a  paper  called  the  Liberator,  in 
which  he  declared  that  slavery  should  be  destroyed  at 
any  cost.  He  would  have  even  broken  up  the  Union 
to  do  it.  Abolition  societies  were  formed,  and  the  senti- 
ment for  freedom  grew  until  many  petitions  were  pre- 
sented to  Congress,  largely  by  John  Q.  Adams,  on 
various  phases  of  slavery,  especially  for  the  abolition  of 
the  slave  trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  capital 
of  the  general  government. 

But  we  must  not  think  all  of  United  States  history 
consisted  in  debates  and  struggles  in  Congress.  During 
these  times  of  strife  over  internal  improvements,  banks 
and  slavery  the  United  States  was  making  great  but 
quiet  steps  forward  in  industrial  lines.  Fulton  in  1807 
had  applied  steam  to  running  boats ;  in  1827  it  was  first 
applied  to  turning  wheels  on  land.  Much  money  had 
been  spent  by  the  general  government,  from  the  close 
of  the  War  of  1812  to  about  1830,  in  improving  harbors, 
clearing  rivers  of  snags,  rocks  and  sand  bars,  and  in 
building  roads.     With  settlements  in  towns  and  cities 


496  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

rapidly  springing  up  in  the  North,  there  came  the  need 
for  many  roads  for  the  farmer  to  use  in  transporting  his 
products  to  town  and  in  taking  back  his  supplies  to 
the  farm.  Also  the  general  government,  as  already  said, 
built  roads  knowing  that  they  would  assist  emigrants 
wishing  to  move  westward.  Many  people,  and  especially 
those  living  in  the  two  sections  —  North  and  South,  — 
thought  differently  in  regard  to  the  justice  of  spending 
the  public  funds  for  internal  improvements.  Many  who 
helped  pay  the  money,  it  was  said,  would  never  see  or 
directly  use  them.  However,  improvements  in  rivers, 
harbors  and  roads  went  on  rapidly,  for  the  government 
felt  it  must  bind  the  people  together  by  "  ducts  of  sym- 
pathy "  if  it  would  develop  in  them  one  strong  national 
feeling.  Roads  were  built  extending  in  every  direction 
—  northwest,  west  and  southwest.  For  example,  a 
national  road  was  built  from  Cumberland,  Maryland,  on 
the  Potomac,  almost  directly  west  through  Wheeling, 
West  Virginia,  on  the  Ohio  River.  Thence,  as  popula- 
tion grew,  on  through  Columbus,  Ohio,  Indianapolis 
and  Terre  Haute,  Indiana,  and  finally  on  westward  till 
it  lost  itself  in  the  broad  prairies  of  Illinois.  It  was 
never  completed  to  the  Mississippi,  as  the  general  gov- 
ernment at  first  intended,  largely  for  the  reason  that  the 
railroad  came  in  to  take  its  place. 

The  travel  on  this  road  was  very  great.  Besides  the 
mail  and  passenger  coaches,  there  was  a  never-ending 
stream  of  emigrant  wagons  with  their  household  prop- 
erty and  droves  pushing  into  the  west.  In  1825  the 
greatest  enterprise  yet  planned  for  water  travel  was 
completed.  This  was  the  Erie  Canal,  built  by  the  State 
of  New  York  between  Lake  Erie  and  the  Hudson  River 


THE  DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   NATION         497 

By  this  means  a  water  route  was  opened  to  the  Atlantic 
from  the  heart  of  the  interior,  and  New  York  City 
rapidly  rose  to  be  the  metropolis  of  the  country.  Pork, 
grain  and  wool  poured  out  from  the  West  to  the  East. 
Manufactured  goods  of  all  kinds  poured  in  from  the 
East  to  the  West.  These  roads  not  only  carried  prod- 
uce back  and  forth,  but  ideas  as  well,  and  the  people  of 
the  East  and  West,  with  diverse  manners  and  customs, 
were  thus  being  rapidly  woven  into  one  nation,  as  a  great 
loom  weaves  many  threads  into  one  immense  fabric. 

Three  years  after  the  completion  of  the  Erie  Canal, 
(1828)  the  first  American  railroad  was  begun.  It  is 
interesting  to  know  that  the  first  step  in  this  great  liber- 
alizing work  was  taken  by  the  last  living  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  Charles  Carroll,  of  Car- 
rollton.  In  1830  fifteen  miles  of  track  were  completed. 
At  first  the  coaches  were  drawn  by  horses,  but  very 
soon  these  were  replaced  by  the  steam  engine.  Rail- 
road building  now  went  on  rapidly.  By  1840  there  had 
been  twenty-three  hundred  miles  built.  Thus  at  last 
had  been  found  a  means  of  travel  which  would  rapidly 
bind  the  different  parts  of  the  country  together  with 
common  customs,  ideas  and  laws.  The  steam  road  not 
only  furnished  rapid  means  of  travel,  but  also  a  cheap 
way  of  transporting  goods,  books,  letters  and  news- 
papers. But  the  influence  of  steam  did  not  end  here. 
The  engine  was  soon  applied  to  all  kinds  of  stationary 
machinery,  and  manufacturing  was  made  vastly  easier 
and  a  thousand-fold  more  rapid.  Just  at  this  time  also 
came  the  discovery  of  the  use  of  anthracite  coal,  and 
with  the  use  of  coal  better  methods  of  producing  and 
working  iron.     It  was  indeed  a  period  of  rapid  growth 


498  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

Soon  gas  was  introduced  for  lighting,  and  the  telegraph 
was  invented  and  put  in  use  in  1844. 

But  the  rapid  progress  which  the  United  States  was 
making  was  not  confined  merely  to  inventions  and  to 
material  prosperity.  As  the  people  grew  wealthy  they 
obtained  leisure,  and  leisure  in  turn  gave  opportunity 
for  culture,  refinement  and  the  pleasures  of  life.  Thus 
with  growth  in  business  came  growth  in  religious 
thought,  in  education,  in  newspapers,  in  libraries  and  in 
literature.  Before  1845,  the  works  of  Bryant,  Irving, 
Cooper,  Emerson,  Hawthorne,  Longfellow,.  Lowell, 
Whittier,  Holmes  and  Bancroft  had  been  diffused 
among  the  people  by  means  of  the  free  American  press 
and  were  eagerly  read  by  all  classes.  Schools  spread 
throughout  the  West  and  were  greatly  aided  by  the 
fact  that  the  general  government  gave  one  thirty-sixth 
part  of  the  public  lands  for  school  purposes.  High 
schools  were  established,  and  in  1839  was  begun  the 
establishment  of  normal  schools,  for  the  training  of 
common-school  teachers. 

It  is  necessary,  however,  to  keep  in  mind  that  in  the 
progress  of  the  country  the  North  came  to  stand  mainly 
for  literature,  commerce  and  statesmanship,  while  the 
South  stood  for  statesmanship  and  agriculture.  The 
tendencies  toward  practical  politics  and  agriculture  by 
slaves  on  the  part  of  the  South,  and  the  tendencies 
toward  literature,  free  labor,  diverse  occupations  and 
political  speculation  on  the  part  of  the  North,  char- 
acterized respectively  the  settlers  from  the  North  and 
the  South  as  they  migrated  westward.  Ocean  steam- 
ships which  began  to  cross  the  Atlantic  successfully  in 
1838  brought  immigrants  from  Europe,  who  were  quickly 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   NATION         499 

conveyed  into  the  interior  by  the  railroad  and  steamboat. 
The  shops  and  farms  westward  were  rapidly  being  filled 
with  self-reliant  settlers  from  New  England,  Scotchmen 
from  New  York,  Germans  from  Pennsylvania;  and  not 
only  with  these,  but  with  the  steady  stream  of  English, 
Irish  and  Germans  now  beginning  to  pour  in  from  the 
Old  World.  You  can  easily  understand,  of  course, 
whether  an  Englishman  or  German  or  Irishman,  coming 
to  America  with  wife  and  children,  and  with  a  living  to 
make  by  daily  labor,  would  go  to  the  South,  where  edu- 
cation was  mainly  private,  there  being  no  public  school 
system  as  such,  and  where  most  of  the  labor  was  per- 
formed by  slaves ;  or  to  the  North,  where  there  were  free 
schools,  free  labor,  cheap  land  and  hundreds  of  ave- 
nues for  the  common  man  to  attain  wealth  and  comfort, 
and  a  social  organization  without  ranks  and  equally 
open  to  all. 

Meanwhile,  the  new  party  led  by  Jackson  had  taken 
the  name  of  Democratic  party,  while  what  had  been 
called  the  National  Republican  party  was  now  (1832) 
called  the  Whig.  Jackson  had  been  succeeded  in  office 
by  Martin  Van  Buren,  a  Democrat,  who  served  one 
term  (1 837-1 841).  While  he  was  President  the  country 
was  in  the  very  depths  of  a  financial  panic* 

The  next  campaign,  1841,  was  the  beginning  of  the 
political  rallies  and  processions  which  have  grown  now 
to  be  so  common.  W.  H.  Harrison,  the  Whig  candi- 
date, was  a  plain  western  man,  and  in  a  way,  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  free  jovial  spirit  of  the  backwoodsman, 
so  the  principal  sight  in  all  the  processions  of  the  cam- 
paign was  a  log  cabin  with  a  live  raccoon  on  top  and  a 
barrel   of   cider   by   the   door.     Harrison   was   elected 


500  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

President,  and  John  Tyler,  a  Democrat  of  Virginia,  was 
elected  Vice  President.  Within  one  month  the  Presi- 
dent died  and  Vice  President  Tyler  succeeded  him. 
Tyler  served  one  term  (1841-1845),  and  then  the  Demo- 
crats elected  James  K.  Polk,  of  Tennessee. 

Since  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  in  1803,  the  American 
people  had  not  enlarged  the  boundaries  of  their  terri- 
tory except  by  the  acquisition  of  Florida  from  Spain  in 
18 19.  But  civilization,  as  we  have  seen,  had  been 
rapidly  pouring  back  from  the  Appalachians  to  the 
foot  of  the  Rockies,  and  the  Westerner  by  his  expan- 
sion was  heeding  the  words  of  Lowell :  — 

"  Be  broad-backed,  brown-handed,  upright  as  your  pines, 
By  the  scale  of  a  hemisphere  shape  your  designs." 

Now  one  "  design  "  which  became  most  prominent  in 
1845  was,  at  least  by  the  North,  considered  anything 
but  "upright."  This  was  the  plan  to  acquire  Texas 
for  the  purpose  of  extending  slavery  therein.  If  you 
will  look  at  your  maps,  you  will  see  that  the  South  by 
this  time  had  carved  all  its  territory  into  states  (Arkan- 
sas had  been  made  out  of  its  last  remaining  land  in 
1836);  so  the  South  felt  that  jt  must  have  Texas  in 
order  to  extend  its  slave  institutions  and  to  keep  up  the 
balance  of  power  in  the  Senate.  Texas  had  been  a  part 
of  Mexico  since  182 1,  when  Mexico  became  independent 
of  Spain  ;  but  it  was  now  being  overrun  and  settled 
largely  by  emigrants  from  the  southern  states.  In 
1836  Texas  withdrew  from  Mexico  and  declared  herself 
an  independent  republic.  Mexico  failed  to  reconquer 
Texas,  and  her  independence  was  recognized  by  .the 
United  States.    A  state  constitution  was  adopted,  allow- 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   NATION         501 

ing  slavery,  and  the  state  then  asked  for  admission  to 
the  Union.  The  South  greatly  desired  to  have  it  ad- 
mitted, but  the  North  was  as  strongly  opposed.  Mexico 
claimed  that  Texas  was  not  an  independent  republic 
and  had  no  right  to  join  the  United  States.  She  also 
declared  that  if  the  United  States  admitted  Texas  into 
the  Union,  that  act  would  be  a  just  cause  for  war  between 
the  two  countries.  Notwithstanding  this,  Congress  ad- 
mitted Texas  in  1845,  with  a  constitution  providing  for 
slavery.  While  the  Texas  question  was  gradually  grow- 
ing, three  more  states  had  joined  the  Union,  —  Arkansas, 
as  already  said,  in  1836,  Michigan  in  1837  and  Florida 
in  1845.  Florida,  as  we  have  already  said,  at  first  be- 
longed to  Spain,  from  whom  the  United  States  bought 
it  in  1 8 19  for  five  million  dollars. 

No  sooner  had  Texas  been  admitted  to  the  Union, 
than  a  further  dispute  arose  with  Mexico  over  the 
southern  boundary  of  Texas.  The  United  States  held 
that  the  boundary  between  Texas  and  Mexico  was  the 
Rio  Grande  River,  while  Mexico  claimed  that  Texas 
extended  only  to  the  Nueces.  The  United  States  army 
occupied  the  territory  between  these  two  rivers  and  was 
attacked  by  the  Mexicans.  This  led  to  a  declaration 
of  war  against  Mexico  by  the  United  States  in  1846. 
The  war  lasted  two  years,  and  it  is  generally  thought 
to  have  been  a  very  unjust  war  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States  against  a  weaker  nation.  Although  the  Mexi- 
cans put  larger  armies  into  the  field  than  did  the  United 
States,  they  were  defeated  in  every  battle,  until  Mexico 
was  invaded  by  the  United  States  army  and  its  capital 
taken. 

While  this  was  going  on,  United  States  troops  seized 


502  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

California  and  New  Mexico.  When  a  treaty  of  peace 
between  the  two  nations  was  signed,  in  1848,  Mexico 
gave  up  not  only  the  territory  between  the  Nueces  and 
the  Rio  Grande,  which  was  the  immediate  cause  of  the 
war,  but,  in  addition  to  this,  all  Mexican  territory  north 
of  the  Gila  River,  and  extending  from  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  This  included  New  Mexico, 
California,  Nevada,  Utah,  Arizona  and  parts  of  Colo- 
rado and  Wyoming.  But  the  Anglo-Saxon  hunger  for 
territory  was  not  yet  satisfied.  The  Americans  imme- 
diately began  to  make  plans  to  secure  that  part  of 
America  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  north 
of  the  forty-second  parallel,  called  the  Oregon  terri- 
tory. This  territory  was  claimed  by  both  England  and 
the  United  States,  and  had  been  partly  settled  by  both 
countries.  The  United  States  claimed  that  the  north- 
ern boundary  was  540  40',  but  England  refused  to  grant 
this  claim.  For  a  time  it  looked  as  if  there  would  be 
war  between  the  two  countries,  but  in  the  end  it  was 
settled  by  a  treaty  in  which  the  northern  boundary  of 
the  United  States  was  fixed  at  the  forty-ninth  parallel. 
Following  these  years  of  territorial  growth,  the  United 
States  continued  to  grow  in  improvements  and  inven- 
tions. By  the  use  of  the  telegraph  it  became  possible 
to  operate  large  railway  systems.  Farming  was  helped 
greatly  by  the  introduction  of  improved  farm  machinery: 
for  example,  the  McCormick  reaper,  patented  in  1834, 
soon  did  away  with  the  slow  method  of  reaping  wheat 
with  the  sickle  and  cradle,  and  the  steam  engine  which 
displaced  horse  power  as  a  means  of  threshing  grain 
did  away  with  the  flail  and  the  winnowing  of  wheat  by 
hand.     Thus,  while  the  East  was  manufacturing  cotton 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE  NATION         503 

and  woolen  goods,  the  West  was  manufacturing  farms 
and  sending  its  raw  material  rapidly  eastward  by  means 
of  steamboat,  canal  and  railroad. 

In  1848  gold  was  discovered  in  California.  The 
telegraph  and  newspaper  spread  the  news  of  the  vast 
wealth  of  the  Pacific  coast  like  magic  over  the  world, 
and  almost  immediately  from  all  parts  of  the  United 
States,  from  Europe  and  South  America,  came  gold 
hunters  on  a  mad  rush  through  the  western  mountains, 
across  the  isthmus  of  Panama,  and  around  Cape  Horn, 
to  California.  In  the  year  1849  almost  eighty  thousand 
immigrants  rushed  into  California  to  dig  gold.  In  that 
year  the  new  settlers  drew  up  a  constitution,  excluding 
slavery,  and  asked  to  be  admitted  to  the  Union.  There 
were  few  slave  men  in  California,  for  the  owners  could 
not  take  slaves  there  and  use  them  to  great  advantage 
in  mining.  Soon  the  same  old  question  of  slavery  and 
freedom  arose;  that  is,  should  slavery  be  allowed  to 
enter  this  new  public  territory  or  not  ?  The  North  was 
making  great  efforts  in  the  press  and  in  Congress  to 
admit  it  free,  although  most  of  it  lay  south  of  the  paral- 
lel of  360  30',  the  Missouri  Compromise  line,  as  you 
will  remember,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Rockies,  which 
divided  the  free  and  slave  states. 

This  was  the  leading  question  before  the  people  in  the 
campaign  of  1849.  ft  resulted  in  the  election  of  Tay- 
lor, the  Whig  candidate,  who  had  become  famous  as  a 
general  in  the  Mexican  War.  No  sooner  had  the  new 
administration  begun,  in  1850,  than  the  slavery  question 
was  pushed  rapidly  to  the  front.  From  all  this  we  can 
see  how  far  the  question  was  from  being  settled  "  for- 
ever," as  the  politicians  had  said  it  was  when  Missouri 


504  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

was  admitted  in  1821.  The  contest  over  the  admission 
of  the  new  western  land  was  bitter,  but  it  was  ended 
for  a  short  time  in  1850  by  a  compromise  proposed  by 
Henry  Clay,  who  because  of  his  many  compromise 
bills  in  Congress  was  called  the  "  peace-maker. "  The 
bill  proposed  to  settle  at  one  and  the  same  time  all 
of  the  disputes  that  had  grown  out  of  the  slavery  con- 
test. From  its  effort  to  make  provision  for  settling  all 
the  great  questions  then  dividing  the  South  from  the 
North  it  was  called  the  Omnibus  Bill.  Its  chief  pro- 
visions were :  ( 1 )  California  was  admitted  as  a  free 
state.  (2)  Slave  trading  was  stopped  in  the  District 
of  Columbia.  (3)  Utah  and  New  Mexico  were  organ- 
ized as  territories  without  any  mention  of  slavery,  leav- 
ing that  question  to  be  determined  by  the  settlers  who 
should  go  therein.  (4)  The  United  States  paid  Texas  a 
large  sum  of  money  for  a  claim  held  by  Texas  upon  a 
portion  of  what  is  now  New  Mexico.  (5)  A  Fugitive 
Slave  Law,  made  very  favorable  for  catching  runaway 
slaves,  was  passed  by  Congress.  It  is  thought,  if  Presi- 
dent Taylor  had  lived  the  bill  would  not  have  been 
passed,  but  in  1850  he  died,  and  Vice  President  Fillmore 
became  President  and  signed  it. 

Those  who  voted  for  the  Compromise  Bill  of  1850 
thought,  or  at  any  rate  desired  to  think,  that  they  were 
quietly  settling  the  entire  slavery  dispute  forever.  In- 
stead of  this  they  were  throwing  fuel  into  the  flame.  The 
advantages  gained  from  the  compromise  by  the  South, 
and  especially  the  provision  concerning  catching  and 
returning  fugitive  slaves  who  had  escaped  from  them, 
only  made  many  people  of  the  North  more  determined 
to  resist  the  further  growth  of  slavery,  and  if  possible 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF   THE   NATION         505 

utterly  to  destroy  it.  This  was  shown  when  slave  owners 
from  the  South,  acting  under  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law, 
tried  to  arrest  escaped  negroes  in  the  northern  states  and 
take  them  back  South.  Sympathy  for  the  negroes  in  the 
northern  states  had  grown  so  strong  that  many  persons 
sheltered  runaway  slaves  and  helped  them  to  escape. 
Routes  were  established  by  which  fugitives  were  taken 
forward,  often  during  the  night-time,  from  station  to 
station,  into  Canada.  These  routes  were  called  under- 
ground railroads,  because  by  them  it  was  possible  to 
assist  the  negro  northward  so  quickly  and  secretly.  Of 
course  this  made  the  South  very  angry  with  the  North, 
and  much  the  same  feeling  was  held  by  the  North 
toward  the  South.  The  North  and  South,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  had  never  been  genuinely  and  closely 
united.  In  schools,  education,  systems  of  labor,  gov- 
ernment and  social  opportunities  it  is  easy  to  see  that 
the  two  sections  were  drifting  farther  and  farther  apart. 
In  1854  a  bill  was  presented  to  Congress  for  the 
organization  of  Nebraska,  which  was  to  include  all  the 
territory  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  north  of  the  line  of 
the  Missouri  Compromise  (360  30')  and  west  of  the  states 
of  Iowa  and  Missouri.  Finally  the  bill  was  changed, 
and  provided  that  the  territory  should  be  divided  into 
two  territories,  (1)  Kansas  just  west  of  Missouri  and 
(2)  Nebraska  west  of  Iowa.  The  bill  also  declared 
that  the  slavery  provision  of  the  Missouri  Compromise 
had  been  done  away  with  by  the  provision  of  1850 
concerning  Utah  and  New  Mexico,  which,  as  you  re- 
member, left  it  to  the  settlers  of  those  two  territories  to 
decide  whether  they  would  have  freedom  or  slavery 
when  they  asked  for  admission  as  states  into  the  Union. 


506  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

Since  this  privilege  had  been  granted  to  those  two  terri- 
tories, the  South,  led  by  Stephen  A.  Douglas  of  Illinois, 
argued  that  the  same  privilege  ought  to  be  granted 
to  all  territories  formed  by  the  general  government. 
This  argument  prevailed  in  Congress,  and  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Bill  passed  (1854),  granting  the  right  to  the 
people  who  settled  in  those  territories  to  decide  for  them- 
selves whether  they  would  or  would  not  have  slaves 
brought  in  and  settled  among  them.  The  passing  of  this 
bill  was  thought  to  be  another  great  victory  for  the  South. 
It  placed  power  in  the  hands  of  the  state  government 
which  had  heretofore  been  exercised  by  the  general 
government,  namely,  that  of  determining  whether  any 
given  territory  entering  the  Union  should  have  slavery 
in  it  or  not.  When  the  bill  passed,  two  streams  of 
settlers  —  a  northern  and  a  southern  —  immediately  set 
out  from  the  eastern  states  toward  Kansas.  Slave 
owners,  taking  with  them  slaves  and  many  rude,  shiftless 
people  from  the  South,  were  first  on  the  ground.  The 
North  likewise  was  determined  to  get  possession  of 
the  state.  Emigration  societies  were  formed  in  eastern 
cities,  by  means  of  which  money  was  raised  and  northern 
settlers  hurried  into  the  territory.  Very  soon  trouble 
arose  between  the  different  peoples  settling  there,  and 
for  some  time  Kansas  was  a  scene  of  bloody  strug- 
gle between  the  northern  and  southern  settlers.  The 
war  between  slavery  and  freedom  had  really  begun. 
This  was  during  the  administration  of  Franklin  Pierce, 
a  Democrat,  who  succeeded  Fillmore  in  1853.  The 
slavery  party  proved  at  first  strongest  in  Kansas,  but 
the  constitution  formed  by  this  party  was  refused  by 
Congress,  when   Kansas  asked   for  admission,  because 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF   THE   NATION         507 

it  had  been  voted  upon  unlawfully  by  the  border 
ruffians  of  Missouri  and  other  southern  states,  who 
crossed  over  into  the  territory  temporarily  for  the  pur- 
pose of  carrying  the  election  for  slavery.  The  result 
was  that  Kansas  remained  a  territory  until  1861,  and 
then  entered  the  Union  as  a  free  state  after  the  south- 
ern members  had  withdrawn  from  Congress.  This  was 
the  last  hope  of  the  South  for  securing  slave  territory  in 
the  West.  The  forces  of  freedom  were  growing  stronger 
every  day,  and  the  South  saw  that  finally  she  would 
certainly  be  overwhelmed  by  them.  What  she  finally 
concluded  to  do  to  save  her  institution  of  slavery,  we 
shall  presently  see. 

In  1857  James  Buchanan  was  elected  President  by 
the  Democratic  party.  This  year  was  also  marked  by 
an  important  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court.  A  negro, 
named  Dred  Scott,  who  was  the  slave  of  a  surgeon  in 
the  regular  army,  living  in  the  state  of  Missouri,  had 
been  taken  by  his  owner  into  Illinois,  a  free  state,  then 
to  the  northern  part  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  (in  what 
is  now  Minnesota),  where  slavery  was  "forever  pro- 
hibited "  by  the  Missouri  Compromise,  and  finally  was 
taken  back  to  Missouri,  a  slave  state.  Being  whipped 
by  his  master,  Scott  sued  for  his  freedom,  claiming  that 
having  lived  in  a  free  state  and  a  free  territory,  he  had 
become  a  free  man.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  decided  against  him, — that  is,  it  decided  that  taking 
a  slave  into  a  free  state  did  not  make  him  any  less  a  slave. 
The  effect  of  this  decision  on  the  North  was  very  great. 
The  people  saw  that  it  gave  the  slave  owners  right  to  over- 
run their  free  territory  with  slaves.  It  practically  threw 
the  North  open,  temporarily  at  least,  to  the  slave  holders 


508  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

of  the  South,  and  it  made  the  North  only  the  more  deter- 
mined to  destroy  slavery.  Abolition  literature  was  printed 
in  the  northern  states  and  sent  broadcast  over  the  country, 
especially  in  the  South,  and  greater  efforts  were  made 
to  aid  escaping  slaves.  A  new  man  now  entered  the 
slavery  contest.  This  was  Abraham  Lincoln,  —  a  man 
like  Socrates,  Luther  and  Franklin,  of  plain,  simple 
and  natural  manner,  who  had  not  been  educated  in 
schools  and  universities,  but  had  "  mixed  with  action  " 
in  the  great  Practical  University  of  Life,  and,  knowing 
the  hopes  and  struggles  of  the  common  people,  came 
to  love  and  believe  in  them.  He  saw  that  the  set- 
tlement of  the  slavery  problem  could  not  be  put  off 
much  longer.  Slave  uprisings  were  becoming  more 
and  more  common  in  the  South.  In  the  North  negro 
schools  were  sometimes  established.  In  1859  John 
Brown  tried  to  arouse  the  slaves  in  Virginia  to  rebel 
by  seizing  the  United  States  Arsenal  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  Virginia,  and  arming  the  slaves,  but  this  brave 
man  was  soon  captured  and  hanged  for  treason.  But 
still  the  spirit  of  liberty  for  which  he  stood  went 
"marching  on,"  for  there  was  growing  to  be  a  vast 
number  in  the  North  who  saw,  as  Lincoln  said,  that  our 
nation  could  not  long  remain  "half  slave  and  half  free." 
"A  house  divided  against  itself,"  he  said,  "cannot  stand." 
Lincoln  became  the  leader  of  the  northern  sentiment, 
and  the  presidential  candidate,  in  i860,  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  to  which  the  Whig  party  had  now  changed 
its  name.  Although  the  platform  of  i860,  upon  which 
he  was  elected,  expressly  declared  that  the  Republican 
Party  merely  intended  to  prevent  slavery  /rom  extend- 
ing any  farther  into  public  territory  than  it  had  already 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   NATION         509 

done,  Lincoln  believed  and  said  in  his  speeches  not  long 
before  this  time  that  the  state  of  affairs  then  existing 
could  not  permanently  last;  that  slavery  must  extend 
to  all  the  states  or  be  entirely  destroyed.  "  I  believe," 
he  said  in  a  great  speech  in  1858,  "that  this  govern- 
ment cannot  endure  half  slave  and  half  free.  I  do  not 
expect  the  Union  to  be  dissolved  —  I  do  not  expect  the 
house  to  fall  —  but  I  do  expect  it  will  cease  to  be 
divided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing  or  all  the  other." 
When  Lincoln  became  President,  in  1861,  he  said:  "I 
have  no  purpose,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  interfere  with 
the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  states  where  it  exists. 
I  believe  I  have  no  lawful  right  to  do  so,  and  I  have  no 
inclination  to  do  so."  Nevertheless,  the  South  thought 
that  his  election  meant  their  ruin,  for  that  was,  they 
thought,  what  the  loss  of  their  slaves  meant.  South 
Carolina,  always  quickest  to  defend  what  she  regarded 
as  her  rights,  took  the  lead  of  the  southern  states  and 
determined  to  withdraw  from  the  Union. 

Before  going  farther  let  us  take  a  brief  view  of  the 
condition  of  the  country  in  general,  both  North  and 
South.  Between  1850  and  1861  five  new  states  had  been 
admitted  —  Iowa  in  1846,  Wisconsin  in  1848,  Minne- 
sota in  1858,  Oregon  in  1859,  Kansas  1861,  all  free. 
The  population  of  the  country  had  now  grown  to  be 
over  thirty-one  millions.  Emigration,  mostly  belong- 
ing to  the  middle  class,  had  pushed  rapidly  forward 
to  the  middle  and  western  states ;  but  practically  none 
had  gone  to  the  South.  The  South  was  rich  in  soil, 
with  some  stores  of  coal  and  iron  and  vast  fields  of  cane, 
cotton  and  tobacco,  but  fully  one-third  of  the  popu- 
lation were  slaves.     Slavery  had  destroyed  the  middle 


5IO  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

class  and  had  made  a  "  poor  white  class  "  as  far  below 
"the  planter"  as  the  serf  of  the  Middle  Ages  was 
below  his  lord.  The  North  had  many  large  cities 
teeming  with  wealth,  bound  together  by  railroads  and 
telegraph  lines.  Steam  had  been  put  to  turning  the 
wheels  of  the  printing  press,  and  with  books,  maga- 
zines and  newspapers,  America  was  in  the  midst  of 
the  "golden  age"  of  her  literature.  Prescott  and 
Motley  wrote  histories  which  attracted  the  whole  world ; 
Bryant,  amid  his  labors  as  journalist,  struck  off  his  un- 
dying poems ;  Longfellow  told  the  tale  of  love  which  re- 
called our  ancestral  connection  with  Plymouth  and  the 
Mayflower.  Whittier  sang  the  songs  of  freedom ;  Lowell, 
Holmes  and  Curtis,  in  the  purest  of  English,  addressed 
millions  of  readers  through  Harper's,  Putnam's  and  The 
Atlantic,  and  Emerson  spoke  such  words  of  wisdom  and 
inspiration  that  they  cannot  be  classed  as  belonging  to 
any  particular  age.  It  was  a  day  when  opportunities 
were  expanding ;  when  the  common  man  was  beginning 
to  count  in  schemes  of  government,  industry  and  educa- 
tion. In  fact,  the  North  was  rapidly  becoming  a  gov- 
ernment "of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the 
people " ;  while  the  South,  although  recognizing  the 
rights  of  the  "  poor  whites,"  and  often  treating  the  slaves 
humanely,  was  essentially  and  with  great  ability  a  gov- 
ernment of  the  slaveholders,  by  the  slaveholders,  and 
for  the  slaveholders. 

On  the  twentieth  day  of  December,  i860,  South 
Carolina,  in  convention  called  for  that  purpose,  declared  : 
(1)  That  she  had  a  right  to  abolish  a  government  seek- 
ing to  rule  her,  which,  in  her  opinion,  had  become  de- 
structive of  the  ends  for  which  it  was  set  up ;  (2)  that 


THE  DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   NATION         511 

the  non-slaveholding  states  had  broken  the  Constitution 
by  passing  laws  protecting  slaves  who  had  run  away  from 
their  masters  and  escaped  to  the  North,  that,  therefore, 
South  Carolina  was  released  from  her  obligations  to 
abide  by  the  Constitution ;  and  (3)  that  as  a  sovereign 
state  she  had  a  right  to  govern  herself,  and  for  the  rea- 
sons already  stated,  she  would  withdraw  from  the  Union. 
Before  March,  1861,  six  other  states  had  joined  South 
Carolina.  Those  states  were  Mississippi,  Florida,  Ala- 
bama, Georgia,  Louisiana  and  Texas.  Later  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  Tennessee  and  Arkansas  joined  them, 
making  in  all  eleven.  They  formed  a  Confederacy, 
known  as  the  Confederate  States  of  America.  They 
selected  Richmond,  Virginia,  as  the  Confederate  capi- 
tal, and  chose  Jefferson  Davis  President  and  Alexander 
H.  Stephens  Vice  President.  They  seized  all  Federal 
government  property  within  their  limits  and  prepared 
to  defend  themselves  against  any  move  the  North  might 
make.  They  thought  they  had  a  right  to  withdraw 
from  the  Union,  and  felt  sure  of  success  in  any  contest 
with  the  North.  They  had  lost  control  of  the  central 
government  in  Congress,  and  seceded  because:  (1)  they 
saw  that  the  North  would  not  consent  to  further  slavery 
extension ;  (2)  because  the  northern  states  were  assist- 
ing their  slaves  to  escape  (which  was  a  violation  of 
Art.  4,  §  2,  cl.  3,  of  the  Constitution);  and  (3)  because 
they  thought  that  President  Lincoln  intended  to  de- 
stroy slavery  wherever  it  existed  in  the  United  States. 
Although  he  did  not  intend  to  do  this,  and,  as  we  have 
seen,  expressly  declared  that  he  did  not,  he  had  sworn 
to  protect  the  Union  and  preserve  it.  This  he  intended 
to  do,  at  whatever  cost.     "  I  shall  take  care,"  he  said  in 


512  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

his  first  inaugural  address,  .  .  .  "that  the  laws  of  the 
Union  be  faithfully  executed  in  all  the  states." 

Lincoln  was  a  western  man,  who  was  reared  when 
a  child  in  a  log-cabin  in  Kentucky.  At  seven  years 
of  age  he  moved  with  his  parents  from  Kentucky  to 
Indiana,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  from  Indiana 
to  the  wilderness  of  Illinois.  He  rose  by  his  own 
efforts  to  be  as  great  a  statesman  as  Washington  and 
one  of  the  greatest  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Being 
a  plain  man  himself,  he  had  profound  confidence  in 
the  plain  people.  He  said  of  them,  "You  can  fool 
all  the  people  some  of  the  time,  some  of  the  people 
all  of  the  time,  but  you  can't  fool  all  the  people  all 
the  time."  In  dealing  with  the  slavery  question,  he 
followed  a  cautious  but  straightforward  policy,  moving 
no  faster  than  he  could  carry  the  people  with  him. 
A  like  straightforward  and  just  policy  was  followed  also 
by  the  President  in  dealing  with  the  seceded  states. 
He  at  once  declared  that  the  southern  states  were  in 
rebellion  against  the  Union  and  called  for  volunteers 
to  compel  them  to  remain  peaceably  in  the  Union. 
Both  sides  began  all  preparations  for  the  great  struggle. 
We  can  see  at  a  moment's  thought  which  side  was 
the  stronger  and  better  prepared  for  war.  It  requires 
money,  men,  arms,  and  a  great  cause  to  fight  for,  to 
make  a  great  war.  The  North  had  more  men,  more 
money  and  more  arms,  more  free  schools,  free  govern- 
ments and  free  men  than  the  South,  and  until  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation,  January,  1863,  had  the 
great  principle  of  the  Union  ("half  slave  and  half 
free  ")  to  fight  for.  After  the  Emancipation  Proclama- 
tion, till  April,  1865,  a  vastly  greater  principle  to  fight 


THE   DEVELOPiMENT    OF   THE   NATION         513 

for,  namely,  a  Union  based  upon  the  immortal  principle 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  that  "All  men  are 
created  equal,"  and  should  have  the  inalienable  right 
to  pursue  life,  liberty  and  happiness  unhindered.  The 
South  too  felt  that  it  was  fighting  for  a  great  cause 
when  it  fought  to  maintain  the  principle  that  each  state, 
being  its  own  judge,  should  have  the  right  wholly  to 
rule  itself  in  case  the  general  government  treated  it 
unjustly,  and  in  defense  of  its  property  right  in  slaves 
as  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution.  The  principle  of 
local  self-government  is  a  precious  one  to  all  Anglo- 
Saxon  Americans.  It  was  born  two  thousand  years  ago 
with  the  Teutonic  race  in  the  German  forests,  and  it 
has  grown  ever  stronger  as  that  race  has  increased  in 
strength,  and  conquered  the  fairest  parts  of  the  earth. 
That  it  did  not  prevail  in  the  war  from  1861  to  1865 
to  the  extent  of  dismembering  the  Union,  all  sections 
of  our  harmonious  Republic  now  equally  rejoice.  What 
the  South  lacked  in  arms,  money  and  men  it  made  up 
for  in  a  struggle  so  brave  that  its  courage  was  only 
equaled  by  that  of  the  North,  and  its  self-sacrifice  was 
in  every  way  equal  to  its  courage.  Moreover,  no  other 
war  in  all  history,  perhaps,  involving  such  great  per- 
sonal sacrifice,  can  show  those  who  were  defeated  as 
having  accepted  the  results  of  the  conflict  in  as  fine  a 
spirit  or  with  as  true  a  patriotism  as  those  have  who 
fought  on  the  Confederate  side  in  the  late  struggle 
between  the  northern  and  southern  states. 

This  struggle,  called  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  or  the 
Civil  War,  lasted  four  years.  We  cannot  follow  it  in 
detail.  At  first  the  southern  arms  were  mainly  suc- 
cessful, but  the  swelling  tide  of  liberty  in  the  North  soon 


514  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

began  to  overcome  them.  They  had  neither  the  men 
nor  means  to  keep  up  the  struggle.  Their  downfall 
was  hastened  when,  on  January  i,  1863,  having  felt 
that  the  people  at  home  and  the  nations  abroad  were 
ready  for  it,  and  that  it  was  a  necessary  means  of 
saving  the  Union,  Lincoln  issued  the  Emancipation 
Proclamation,  proclaiming  all  the  slaves  in  the  states 
then  in  rebellion  free.  Without  their  slaves  to  culti- 
vate their  land  and  thus  furnish  means  with  which  to 
carry  on  the  war,  the  South  could  not  hold  out  long. 
Although  urged  by  some  to  proclaim  the  -slaves  free 
at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  Lincoln  declared  he  had 
no  intention  of  doing  so  unless  the  life  of  the  Union 
required  it.  He  finally  made  the  proclamation  as  a 
means  of  weakening  the  South,  ending  the  war  and 
saving  the  Union.  His  power  to  do  this  was  dis- 
puted, but  in  1865  Congress  proposed  an  Amendment 
to  the  Constitution,  which  was  ratified  by  the  states, 
abolishing  slavery  entirely  from  the  United  States.' 
As  already  said,  the  southern  states  were  overcome 
by  larger  armies,  and  finally,  when  the  South  was 
bankrupt  and  in  ruins,  when  they  had  suffered  as  prob- 
ably no  other  people  in  modern  times  have  suffered, 
the  South  gave  up  the  struggle,  and  General  Lee  sur- 
rendered his  army  to  General  Grant  at  Appomattox 
Courthouse,  Virginia,  on  April  9,  1865.  The  first 
act  of  Grant  in  dealing  with  Lee's  surrendered  and 
starving  army  was  calculated  to  heal  the  great  breach 
between  the  two  great  sections.  He  issued  food  to 
the  starving  men  and  sent  them  back  home  with  their 
horses,  saying,  they  would  need  them  for  the  spring 

1  Amendments,  Art.  XIII. 


THE   DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  NATION         515 

plowing.  Lincoln  and  Grant,  supported  by  the  free 
common  men  of  the  nation,  had  thus  saved  the  Union 
which  it  cost  Washington  and  the  Revolutionary  patri- 
ots so  much  sacrifice  to  create.  But  in  addition  to  the 
cost  of  money  and  men  it  cost  the  life  of  the  great 
Lincoln.  On  April  14,  1865,  he  was  shot,  while  attend- 
ing the  theater  in  Washington,  by  John  Wilkes  Booth, 
a  southern  sympathizer.  Immediately  the  rejoicing  in 
the  North  over  peace  and  victory  was  turned  into  uni- 
versal grief.  The  death  of  the  great  man  who  had 
guided  the  Nation  through  the  storm  was  felt  as  an 
irreparable  loss  by  the  South  as  well  as  the  North,  and 
it  moved  the  sympathy  of  the  entire  world.  Lincoln 
was  succeeded  in  office  by  Andrew  Johnson,  the  Vice 
President,  on  whom  fell  the  great  task  of  restoring  the 
South  from  the  effects  of  secession  and  war  and  of 
cementing  the  states  into  one  harmonious  Union. 

What  were  the  results  of  the  war  ?  Since  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Union  many  had  believed  in  the  right  of 
nullification  and  ultimately  of  the  right  of  secession  on 
the  part  of  a  state.  This  question  was  now  settled  for- 
ever. The  war  proved  (1)  that  ours  is  a  Union  in  which 
there  can  be  no  secession.  No  state  can  withdraw  from 
the  Union,  nor  can  the  Union  interfere  with  the  rights 
of  the  states.  Then  (2)  slavery  was  destroyed  forever. 
To  sum  it  up  briefly,  it  may  be  said  that  the  war  proved 
that  the  United  States  is  an  indestructible,  Federal 
Union  made  up  of  indestructible  states,  wherein  slavery 
shall  not  exist  but  where  every  one  shall  be  free  to  make 
the  most  and  best  possible  of  himself.  The  war  thus 
saved  for  posterity  the  example  of  a  nation  based  upon 
the  great  principles  worked  out  by  the  greatest  peoples 


516  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

of  the  past  It  saved  the  Roman  principle  of  a  strong 
central  government;  it  united  with  this  the  Teutonic 
principle  of  a  strong  local  government ;  it  may  be  truly 
said  to  have  saved  the  Greek  principles  of  art  and 
philosophy  by  making  it  possible  for  everybody  to  enter 
freely  into  school  and  university  and  gain  that  culture 
upon  which  these  are  based.  In  short,  the  war  saved  a 
nation,  based  upon  the  oldest,  broadest  and  most  abid- 
ing principle  of  humanity,  —  human  freedom.  It  made 
America,  as  Emerson  said,  another  word  for  opportunity. 
Much  trouble  was  had  in  rebuilding  the  Union,  but 
slowly  the  southern  states  came  back  to  their  former 
standing.  Thirty-five  years  have  passed  away  since 
the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  The  negro,  by  constitutional 
amendments,  has  been  made  a  citizen  and  been  given 
the  right  to  vote  and  all  rights  of  American  citizenship  ; 
but  the  ignorance,  superstition  and  crime  still  found  in 
that  race  imposes  on  America  a  great  duty  to  assist  the 
negro  in  the  future  to  lift  himself  up  to  the  blessings  of 
civilization.  Time  has  taken  away  the  feeling  of  bitter- 
ness between  the  North  and  South,  and  the  country  now 
is  united  as  never  before.  Since  the  negro  has  been 
freed,  the  South  itself  has  awakened  to  a  new  life.  It 
has  grown  greatly  in  wealth  and  learning,  and  finds  free 
labor  more  profitable  than  formerly  it  found  slave.  The 
country  is  still  directed  politically  by  two  main  political 
parties,  —  the  Democratic,  holding  essentially  to  the  prin- 
ciple of  local  government,  upon  which  it  was  founded 
by  Jefferson ;  and  the  Republican,  holding  to  the  prin- 
ciple of  strong  national  government,  the  principle  upon 
which  it  was  founded  by  Hamilton,  Washington,  Adams 
and  Jay.     Many  other  important  questions  still  face  the 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   NATION         517 

people  of  the  United  States  and  call  for  the  greatest 
wisdom  in  their  settlement.  The  means  of  securing 
honest,  capable  officers  for  carrying  on  the  government, 
—  national,  state,  municipal,  —  the  best  means  of  regu- 
lating trusts,  the  best  means  of  securing  to  the  daily 
laborer  a  just  reward  for  his  labor,  demand  as  great 
statesmanship  for  settlement  as  did  the  bank,  tariff,  in- 
ternal improvements,  and  slavery  questions,  which  were 
the  great  political  issues  during  the  first  three-quarters 
of  our  national  life. 

Moreover,  in  1898  America  was  for  a  time  at  war 
with  Spain  for  the  freedom  of  Cuba.  In  this  war  the 
United  States  was  again  successful,  and  among  its 
many  effects  it  brought  the  North  and  South  closer 
together  in  friendship,  perhaps,  than  they  had  ever 
been  since  the  formation  of  the  Union.  In  this  war  the 
Philippine  Islands,  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  were  taken 
from  Spain,  and  a  great  question  of  the  present  hour  is 
how  the  United  States  can  best  discharge  its  duties 
toward  these  foreign  possessions.  In  dealing  thus  far 
with  these  outlying  territories,  our  country  has  acted 
with  promptness  and  energy ;  for,  after  spending  mil- 
lions of  dollars  in  freeing  Cuba,  establishing  an  ad- 
mirable school  system  therein,  providing  for  popular 
elections,  establishing  hospitals  and  charitable  institu- 
tions, cleaning  and  reorganizing  the  prisons,  introducing 
sanitation,  thus  making  one  of  the  most  unhealthy  coun- 
tries of  the  world  one  of  comparative  healthfulness,  the 
United  States,  on  May  27,  1902,  of  its  own  accord  (one 
of  the  most  honorable  acts  in  the  history  of  the  world) 
lowered  its  own  flag,  raised  the  Cuban  emblem  of  national 
independence  in  its  place  and  bade  God-speed  to  the  new 


518  SCHOOL   HISTORY 

republic  which  it  had  liberated,  nourished  and  launched 
into  independent  life.  Thus,  you  see,  while  we  do  not 
have  the  same  struggles  to  make,  in  settlement  of 
exactly  the  same  questions  that  our  forefathers  had,  we 
have  as  great  and  as  important  ones.  And  the  main 
purpose  of  all  the  study  we  have  given  to  the  develop- 
ment of  history  throughout  all  the  ages  has  been  to  see 
how  the  great  principles  of  human  liberty  have  been 
fought  for,  won  and  developed,  and  how  they  have 
sometimes  been  lost  through  carelessness,  ignorance 
and  selfishness.  All  along  the  track  of  time,  for  thou- 
sands of  years,  people  have  been  sacrificing,  and  giving 
the  things  most  precious  to  them,  —  even  to  their  lives, 
—  that  men  and  women  and  children  might  be  free  to 
make  the  very  most  and  best  of  their  lives  of  which 
they  are  capable.  In  order  to  obtain  the  value  that 
historical  study  should  give,  one  must  catch  the  spirit 
of  justice,  kindness  and  helpfulness,  and  highly  resolve 
to  work  with  might  in  some  avenue  which  will  better 
mankind.  He  who  truly  studies  Greece  or  the  Re- 
nascence will  seek  to  bring  beauty  to  schoolroom  and 
home  by  putting  picture  and  library  and  beauty  and 
culture  within  them.  He  who  truly  studies  the  best 
that  Rome  achieved  in  her  thousand  years  of  history 
will  gradually  feel  the  great  virtues  of  perseverance, 
obedience  to  authority  and  patriotism  which  Rome 
taught,  etching  their  way  into  his  character.  He  who 
follows  the  growth  of  religion  through  its  hundreds  of 
generations,  and  Christianity  through  its  nineteen  cen- 
turies of  development  and  sees  the  growth  of  the  uni- 
versal Church  from  age  to  age,  ever  catching  new 
truth  and   broader  views,  will  come  to  see  the  good 


THE   DEVELOPMENT  OF   THE   NATION         519 

which  has  been,  and  is  being  accomplished  by  every 
religion,  creed  and  profession.  Out  of  such  views  toler- 
ation will  arise,  narrowness  and  bigotry  will  disappear, 
and  the  hand  of  sympathy  and  helpfulness  will  be 
reached  forth  not  alone  to  kindred  and  neighbors  and 
countrymen  and  fellow-Christians  but  to  fellow-men 

"Where'er  a  human  spirit  strives 
After  a  life  more  true  and  fair." 

He  who  truly  studies  the  history  of  America  will  come 
to  see  and  feel  that  the  great  principles  of  freedom 
which  we  enjoy  have  their  roots  lying  deep  in  the  past, 
—  that  all  great  nations  and  great  men  have  given  their 
noblest  efforts  and  their  lives  to  establish  and  advance 
these  principles ;  that  the  truest  patriotism  and  service 
to  country,  therefore,  does  not  consist  in  a  narrow  and 
slavish  subservience  to  party,  creed,  or  country,  but  in  an 
earnest  and  intelligent  effort  to  see  the  truth  which  ex- 
ists in  every  party,  creed  and  nation,  and  in  a  life  de- 
voted to  advancing  the  immortal  principles  of  human 
liberty  upon  which  our  government  is  based  and  which 
all  ages  and  all  nations  have  contributed  in  some  degree 
to  bequeath  to  us.  It  is  by  some  such  conception  of 
patriotism  and  true  love  of  country  as  this  that  the 
student  of  history  becomes  broad,  liberal,  many-sided,  — 
a  true  interpreter  of  the  past,  a  safe  guide  for  the' 
present  and  a  guarantee  to  the  future  "  that  govern- 
ment of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people, 
shall  not  perish  from  the  earth." 


520  SCHOOL   HISTORY 


References 

Walker:  Making  of  the  Nation;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 

Burgess:  The  Middle  Period ;  Scribner's  Sons,  N.Y. 

Rhodes:  History  of  the  United  States  from  the  Compromise  of 

1850  (4  vols.)  ;  Harper  &  Bros.,  N.Y. 
Hart :  Formation  of  the  Union;  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Wilson:  Division  and  Reunion  ;  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Lalor:  Cyclopedia  of  Political  Science;  Merrill  &  Co.,  N.Y. 

(a)  Federalists.      (b)  Anti-Federalists,      (c)  Alien  and  Sedi- 
tion   Laws.      (d)  Virginia    and    Kentucky    Resolutions. 
0)  Embargo.     (/)  Wars  of  United  States,     (g)  Hartford 
Convention,      (k)  Internal   Improvements,      (z)  Slavery. 
(/)  Secession,     (k)  Reconstruction. 
Wilkinson:  Story  of  the  Cotton  Plant;  Appleton  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
McCarthy:  History  of  the  United  States  ;  Stone  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Richardson :  History  of  American  Literature  (2  vols.)  ;  Putnam's 

Sons,  N.Y. 
McMaster :    History  of  United  States ;    American  Book  Co.,  Cin- 
cinnati. 
Hosmer:  A  Short  History  of  the  Mississippi  Valley;    Houghton, 

Mifflin  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Roosevelt :  The  Winning  of  the  West  (4  vols.)  ;   Putnam's  Sons, 

N.Y. 
Woolsey :  First  Century  of  the  Republic;  Harper  &  Bros.,  N.Y. 
McLaughlin:   History  of  the  American  Nation;  Appleton  &  Co., 

N.Y. 
Montgomery  :  Students'  History  of  the  United  States  ;  Ginn  &  Co., 

Boston. 
Channing  :  Students'  History  of  the  United  States  ;  The  Macmillan 

Co.,  N.Y. 
Statesman  Series  :  Especially  Hamilton,  Adams,  Jefferson,  Madison, 

John  Quincy  Adams,  Calhoun,  Webster,  Clay,  Jackson,  Lincoln  ; 

Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
Cooke:  Life  of  R.  E.  Lee;  Appleton  &  Co.,  N.Y. 
American  Men  of  Letters  Series :  Especially  Irving,  Bryant,  Tho- 

reau,  Emerson,  Franklin,  Curtis. 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   NATION         52 1 

Underwood:  Biography  of  Longfellow;  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co., 
N.Y. 

Old  South  Leaflets:  Ordinance  of  1787,  Articles  of  Confederation, 
Constitution  of  United  States,  Monroe  Doctrine,  Lincoln's  In- 
augurals ;  Directors  of  Old  South  Work,  Boston,  Mass. 

Preston :  Documents  Illustrative  of  American  History ;  Putnam's 
Sons,  N.Y. 

Hart:  Source  Book  of  American  History;  Macmillan  Co.,  N.Y. 


INDEX 


Aaron's  Rod,  49. 

Abibaal,  death   of,  64 ;  father  of 

Hiram,  55. 
Abolitionists,  work  of,  495. 
Abraham,  and  worship  of   idols, 

34  ;  as  a  boy,  33. 
A-cad'e-my  of  Athens,  1 01. 
A-chilles,    ideal     of    Alexander, 

I31.  I32- 

A-crop'o-lis,  113;  description  of, 
114;  goddess  of  Athena  on, 
105 ;  in  Athens,  102. 

Adams,  John,  President,  476,  477. 

Adams,  J.  Q.,  President  of  United 
States,  492  ;  presents  petitions 
on  slavery  to  Congress,  495. 

Ae-ge'an  Sea,  103  ;  crossing  of,  by 
Xerxes,  108. 

Ae-miri-us  Paulus,  command  of, 
in  East,  205  ;  leader  in  Punic 
War,  193  ;  triumph  of,  206. 

Aes'chy-lus,  138. 

Ara-ric,  54. 

Alexander  the  Great,  125  ;  attack 
of,  against  Tyre,  135 ;  at 
Gordium,  133;  burial  of,  140; 
change  in  character  of,  140; 
chief  services  of,  to  history, 
144;  cities  founded  by,  137, 
138;  death  of,  140;  defeats 
Greeks,  131  ;  early    inclination 


of,  toward  war,  132 ;  early  life 
of,  129;  gymnastic  sports  in 
army  of,  132;  in  Egypt,  136; 
king  of  Persia,  137;  march  of, 
into  Persia,  131  ;  marriage  of, 
138;  personal  habits  of,  139; 
relation  of,  to  science,  138; 
studies  of,  130;  treasure  of, 
found   in   East,   137. 

Alexandria,  founding  of,  136; 
growth  of,  141 ;  library  of,  142; 
library  in,  143;  supersedes 
Tyre,  141  ;  trade  of,  114. 

Alien  and  Sedition  Laws,  477,  478. 

Alps,  crossing  of,  by  Hannibal, 
187;  position  of,  239;  relation 
of,  to  Italy,  148. 

Amber,  58. 

America,  causes  leading  to  set- 
tlement of,  423 ;  chief  nations 
colonizing  in,  425;  government 
of,  464 ;  preparatory  steps  to 
the  discovery  of,  423,  424. 

Amphitheater,  games  in,  219. 

Ancient  bricks,  used  in  writing, 
how  made,  72. 

Anti-Federalists,  471,  477. 

Apennines,  149,  150,  239. 

A-pollo,  god  of,  consulted  by 
Athenians,  109. 

Aqueducts  in  Italy,  152. 


M 


524 


SCHOOL   HISTORY 


Ar-bela,  battle  of,  136. 

Architecture  in  Carthage,  172. 

Ar'chons  at  Athens,  100,  102. 

Ares,  sacrifices  to,  96. 

Ar-is-ti'des  banished  from  Athens, 
105. 

Ar'is-tot-le,  rank  of,  as  philosopher, 
138  ;  teacher  of  Alexander,  138. 

Ark,  description  of,  49. 

Armor,  offensive  and  defensive, 
188-191. 

Army,  Hannibal's,  184,  185  ; 
Roman,  description  of,  188 ; 
standing,  influence  of,  346,  347. 

Art,  Grecian,  84,  85. 

"  Arya, "  description  of,  8 ;  life  of, 
15,  16;  sons  of,  5. 

Aryans,  branches  of,  3;  early 
religion  of,  7 ;  habits  of,  in  eat- 
ing, 9;  primitive  civilization 
among,  4 ;  probable  early  home 
of,  3 ;  superstition  of,  6 ; 
women's   work    among,    11. 

Asia  Minor,  condition  of,  205; 
Greek  cities  in,  102. 

As-tar'te,  64. 

Athena,  on  Acropolis  Hill,  114; 
statue  of,  115. 

Athenians,  "  Master,  remember 
the,"  103. 

Athens,  burning  of,  no;  descrip- 
tion of,  102  ;  destruction  of,  by 
Sparta,  124;  meets  Persians, 
103  ;  wealth  of,  113. 

Atum,  god  of,  28. 

Augustus  Caesar,  rule  of,  230,  231. 

Baal,  181. 

Balis ta,  description  of,  306, 


Baltic  Sea  visited  by  Phoenicians, 

58. 
Baths,   courses   in,  217  ;  Roman, 

description  of,  216. 
Battering-ram,  description  of,  135; 

Roman,  198. 
"Bema  Stone,"  119. 
Bible,  sources   of,   45 ;  translated 

into  Greek,  142  ;  translated  into 

German,  367. 
Bi-reme,  description  of,  57. 
Boats,  Phoenician,  56. 
Boc-cac'cio,  work  of,  332,  333. 
Bori-var,  403. 

Books,  ancient,  66,  73,  142  ;  mak- 
ing   of,    in    monasteries,    269; 

rapidity  of  making,  342  ;  spread 

of,  343- 

Bricks,  writing  upon,  72. 

Britons,  58. 

Brown,  John,  508. 

Bu-ceph'a-lus,  130. 

Bulgarians,  relation  of,  to  Cru- 
sades, 299. 

Bull,  papal,  burning  of,  360,  361. 

Burgesses,  house  of,  440. 

Burgundians,  255. 

Byr'sa,  172;  captured  by  Rome, 
200,  201. 

Cabinet,  first,  in  United  States, 
471. 

Caesar,  Julius,  death  of,  230; 
early  life  of,  227,  228 ;  great- 
ness of,  228;  in  Gaul,  228; 
master  of  Rome,  229;  work  of, 
229,  230. 

Calhoun,  work  of,  493. 

California,  admission  of,  to  United 


INDEX 


525 


States,  503 ;  early  settlement  of, 
404,  405. 
Calvin,  influence  of,  over  English 
reformers,   373  ;  work   of,   368, 

369- 
Camel,  habits  of,  60. 
Ca'naan  conquered  by   Hebrews, 

35- 

Can'nae,  battle  of,  193. 

Caravan  of  Phoenician  traders, 
59,  60. 

Carthage,  art  of,  173;  commerce 
of,  174;  conquest  of,  175; 
declaration  of  war  against  Rome, 
183 ;  destruction  of,  200 ;  extent 
of,  at  First  Punic  War,  176; 
harbor  of,  173  ;  position  of, 
172  ;  ships  of,  173  ;  siege  of, 
198-201;  slavery  of,  175,  176; 
walls  of,  173. 

Castle,  daily  life  in,  282-284;  de- 
fense of,  in  Middle  Ages,  289; 
description  of,  279-281 ;  origin 
of,  279;  taking  of,  289. 

Catapult,  Roman,  189;  string  for, 
199;  use  of,  135,  289. 

Chapter  House,  263. 

Charlemagne,  influence  of,  276. 

Chiton,  87,  89. 

Chivalry,  value  of,  286  ;  spirit  of, 
201. 

Christianity,  cause  of  early  growth 
of,  233  ;  mission  of,  235. 

Christians,  Rome's  dislike  of,  232. 

Cicero,  interest  in,  during  Middle 
Ages,  336. 

Cin-cin-na'tus,  168. 

Circus,  Roman,  description  of, 
217. 


Circus    Maximus,   description   of, 

218. 
City-states  in  Greece,  81,  100. 
Civil  War,  principles  involved  in, 

512  ;  results  of,  514,  515. 
Civilization,   gain  to,   by  Rome's 

conquest  of  Carthage,  200,  201. 
Classical  Literature,  330. 
Clay,  Henry,  work  of,  492,  503. 
Cleis'the-nes,  102. 
Clitus,  death  of,  139;  saves  life  of 

Alexander,  132. 
Cloister  garth,  262,  264. 
Colet,  work  of,  351. 
Colonial    governments,   types   of, 

447,  448. 
Colonies,  Carthaginian,  treatment 

of,  176,  177. 
Col-os-se'um,  description  of,  219. 
Columbus,    424;     plan    of,    314; 

work  of,  382,  383. 
Column,  Egyptian,  description  of, 

25;  use  of  in  Egypt,  26. 
Commence  of  early  Greeks,  97. 
Common  man,  condition  of,  under 

feudalism,  284  ;  rise  of,  290. 
Confederation,  Articles  of,  457. 
Connecticut,  early  settlement  of, 

429. 
Constantine,   adoption    of   Chris- 
tianity by,  233. 
Constantinople,     attack     of,     by 

Turks,   296 ;    capture   of,   382 ; 

effects  of  fall  of,  338. 
Constitution    of    United    States, 

leading  provisions  of,  462,  463; 

ratification  of,  461,  462. 
Constitutional    Convention,    459, 

460,  462. 


526 


SCHOOL    HISTORY 


Consuls    first    elected    in    Rome, 

161. 
Corinth,  destruction  of,  by  Rome, 

208. 
"  Cornelia,"  mother  of  the  Gracchi, 

223. 
Cor'tez,  work  of,  384. 
Cotton,  culture  of,  443. 
Cotton  gin,  invention  of,  488. 
County     government     at    South, 

441. 
Criticism,  effects  of,  on  learning, 

339;    rise  of,  in    Middle  Ages, 

33%>  339- 

Croe'sus,  102. 

Crusades,  causes  of,  293;  charac- 
ter of,  307;  effects  of,  309-315; 
first  movements  of,  297 ;  imple- 
ments of  warfare  used  in,  301- 
304,  306;  influence  of,  on  his- 
tory, 293;  influence  of,  upon 
learning,  311  ;  motives  leading 
to,  294,  295  ;  relation  of,  to  dis- 
covery of  America,  312-314,425; 
warfare  in,  304,  305. 

Culture,  spread  of,  344. 

Cuneiform  writing,  71. 

Cyrus,  ruler  of  Persia,  102. 

Darius,  death  of,  106;  letter  of, 
67 ;  moves  against  Greece,  99 ; 
raises  another  army,  105 ;  why 
angry  with  Athens,  103. 

De  Soto,  work  of,  385. 

Dead  Sea,  36. 

Death,  Egyptian  view  of,  28. 

Debt,  cause  of,  in  early  Rome, 
166;  punishment  for,  in  Rome, 
166. 


Delian  League,  112. 

Delos,  island  of,  113. 

Delphi,  109 ;  oracle  of,  83. 

Democracy,  meaning  of,  120. 

Dictator,  power  of,  in  Rome,  161. 

Diet  of  Germany,  361. 

Dining,  early  method  of,  in  Greece, 

89,  90. 
Di-o-ny'si-us,  121. 
Distaff  described,  12. 
Do-do'na,  oracle  of,  83. 
Doma,  Grecian,  87. 
Donjon  Keep,  281,  282. 
"  Doubles  "  among  the  Egyptians, 

29. 
Douglas,   Stephen  A.,    views    of, 

on  slavery,  505. 
Dove,  ill  omen  of,  6,  7. 
Dred  Scott  Decision,  507. 
Dru'sus    attacks     the    Germans, 

241. 
Dutch,    conquered    by    England, 

445;     settlement    of,    in    New 

York,  445. 

"Earth   and    Water,"   tokens  of, 

103. 
Education,  method  of,  among  the 

Hebrews,  46. 
E-ge'ria,  fountain  of,  163 ;  love  of, 

for  Numa,  160. 
Egypt,  description  of  country,  18  ; 

permanent  contribution  to  civi- 
lization by,  32. 
Egyptians,  why  not  a  commercial 

people,  19. 
Elephants,  crossing  Alps,  187;  in 

Hannibal's  army,  185. 
Elis,  country  of,  122, 


INDEX 


527 


Elizabeth,  relation  of,  to  English 
Reformation,  372,  374. 

Emancipation  Proclamation,  513. 

Embalming,  among  Egyptians,  28  ; 
relation  of,  to  science  of  medi- 
cine, 29. 

Embargo,  482;  effect  of,  480. 

Emigration  to  United  States,  498. 

England,  central  government  in, 
321  ;  comparison  of  history  in, 
with  France  and  Spain,  321, 
322 ;  conquest  of,  by  Teutons, 
255;  growth  of  liberty  in,  316- 
327 ;  important  documents  in 
history  of,  323 ;  invasion  of,  by 
Danes,  321 ;  principles  of  liberty 
in,  323 ;  settlement  of,  320. 

English  colonies,  comparison  of, 
with  Spanish  and  French,  449, 
451 ;  location  of,  426;  in  America, 
423;  in  America,  discussion  of, 
423-464 ;  in  America,  environ- 
ment of,  426;  independence  of, 
428;  independence  in,  431. 

English  liberties,  relation  of,  to 
American  history,  326,  327. 

Eph'ors  at  Sparta,  100. 

Ep-i-cu'rus,  teaching  of,  213. 

E-ras'mus,  work  of.  340,  351. 

E-rech-the'um,  temple  of,  1 1 5. 

Erie  Canal,  construction  of,  496. 

Euphrates  in  relation  to  Phoeni- 
cian trade,  59. 

Europe,  physical  features  of,  238. 

"  Eye  of  a  Needle,"  40. 

Fabius,  made  dictator  in  Rome, 

192  ;  policy  of,  192. 
Farming  by  early  Egyptians,  22. 


Farms,  early  Roman,  size  of,  156. 

Feasts,  Roman,  description  of, 
215;  cost  of,  216. 

Federalist  Party,  death  of,  492. 

Federalists,  47 1 ;  attitude  toward 
War  of  1812,  482. 

Festivals  among  the  Hebrews,  40. 

Feudalism,  among  French  colo- 
nists in  America,  412  ;  decay  of, 

290  ;  enlargement  of,  278;  local 
government  in,  279;  origin  of, 
275>  276;  in  Spain,  380,  381  ; 
influence  of,  upon  history,  275- 

291  ;  influence  of,  on  civiliza- 
tion, 275;  value  of,  to  civiliza- 
tion, 290,  291. 

Fief,  meaning  of,  277. 

Fire,  early  method  of  obtaining,  43. 

First  Grade,  aim  of  work  in,  3. 

Flatboat,  481. 

Florence,  description  of,  333. 

Food,  articles  of,  among  early 
Greeks,  90,  91. 

Foreign  relations  during  Wash- 
ington's administration,  473. 

Fourth  Grade  work,  scope  of, 
146. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  449-451. 

Free  schools  in  America,  448. 

French  and  Indian  War,  420,  450, 
451 ;  importance  of,  420 ;  treaty 
closing,  420,  421. 

French  colonial  government,  com- 
parison of,  with  English,  418, 419. 

French  colonies,  education  in, 
414  ;  favorable  position  of,  407, 
408;  government  in,  416-419; 
leading  ideas  in,  409  ;  trade  in, 
409. 


528 


SCHOOL   HISTORY 


French  colonists  in  America, 
religion  of,  413. 

French  colony,  typical  settlement 
of,  410,  411. 

French  settlements  in  America, 
407-422. 

Frey,  248. 

Fugitive  slaves,  assistance  to,  504, 

SOS- 
Games,  Olympic,  99. 

Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  495. 

Gauls,  Hannibal  among,  186. 

Genoa,  relation  of,  to  Columbus, 
382. 

Geography,  in  Greece,  77  ;  effects 
of  Crusades  upon  knowledge  of, 
312;  influence  of,  over  Spanish 
colonies,  383-391 ;  influence  of, 
on  colonial  settlement,  426. 

George  III,  attitude  of,  toward  Eng- 
lish colonies  in  America,  453. 

Germans,  capacity  of,  for  civiliza- 
tion, 258 ;  change  in  culture  of, 
254;  characteristics  of,  241; 
conquest  of  Rome  by,  251-257  ; 
early  assembly  among,  246 ; 
early  bravery  of,  245  ;  early  cul- 
ture of,  242 ;  early  government 
of,  245;  early  houses  of,  242, 
243;  early  lack  of ,  in  education, 
249 ;  early  religion  of,  249 ; 
holding  land  among,  244,  245  ; 
love  of  liberty  of,  318;  respect 
of,  for  women,  243 ;  southern 
migrations  of,  254-257  ;  villages 
of,  244. 

Germany,  growth  of  Reformation 
to.  354-367- 


Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  308. 

Gold,  discovery  of,  in  California, 
502,  503. 

Grac'chi,  story  of,  221,  222. 

Grain,  grinding  of,  in  Rome,  157  ; 
in  early  Rome,  157. 

Gran-i'cus,  battle  of,  132. 

Great  men  among  the  Hebrews, 
44. 

Great  pyramid,  ascent  of,  31,  32. 

Grecian,  harbors,    relation   of,  to 
commerce,      79 ;     islands,     78 
mountains,  description   of,   80 
relation  of,  to  Greek  history,  81 
topography,  valleys,  80. 

Grecians  compared  with  Persians 
as  fighters,  106. 

Greece,  animals  of,  84;  colonists 
of,  100  ;  early  farming  in,  92  ; 
easy  of  defense,  cause  of,  82 ; 
geography  of,  240;  geography 
of,  compared  with  Egypt  and 
Babylon,  77  ;  greatest  beauty  of, 
112;  infancy  of,  86 ;  lessons  of  civ- 
ilization taught  by,  125  ;  moun- 
tains of,  79;  position  of,  with 
reference  to  Phoenicia,  78  ;  rela- 
tion of  soil  of,  to  Grecian  civili- 
zation, 82 ;  sea-coast  of,  79 ; 
size  of,  79 ;  soil  of,  82  ;  stone 
in,  84 ;  temperature  of,  84 ; 
temperature  of,  relation  to 
Greek  civilization,  84 ;  youth 
of,  99. 

Greek,  difficulties  of  studying, 
337  ;  language,  learning  of,  by 
Romans,  209 ;  knowledge  of,  in 
Middle  Ages,  337  ;  students  of, 
in  Rome,  209 ;  use  of,  in  Middle 


INDEX 


529 


Ages,  330 ;  house,  in  early  time, 
88  ;  house,  in  early  time,  furni- 
ture of,  88,  89;  play,  description 
of,  121;  religion,  relation  of 
geography  to,  83;  theater,  134; 
players  in,  121. 

Greek  cities,  founded  by  Alexan- 
der, 138 ;  revolt  of,  in  Asia 
Minor,  103  ;  jealousy  of,  128  ; 
selfishness  of,  no. 

Greek  culture,  how  spread  over 
the  East,  138;  extent  of  in- 
fluence  of,   144. 

Greeks,  bravery  of,  at  Marathon, 
104 ;  training  of,  106 ;  what 
they  learned  from  the  Phoeni- 
cians, 97. 

Green  quoted  on  importance  of 
Parliament,  325. 

Gunpowder,  first  used,  290 ;  influ- 
ence of,  345. 

Gymnasium,  exercises  in,  116;  in 
Athens,  116. 

Habitants,  French,  411. 

Ha-mil'car,  death  of,  182;  driven 
from  Sicily,  181  ;  plans  of,  181  ; 
in  Sicily,  180. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  work  of,  472. 

Hannibal,  after  Second  Punic 
War,  196,  197  ;  army  of,  184  ; 
size  of,  188;  conquests  of,  in 
Spain,  182 ;  early  training  of, 
182  ;  eye,  loss  of,  192  ;  in  Italy, 
after  Cannae,  194;  greatness  of, 
200;  last  years  of,  197  ;  march 
of,  from  Spain  to  Rome,  184- 
188  ;  march  of,  through  north- 
ern Italy,  191 ;  military  qualities 


of,  182;  oath  of,  181;  plans 
of,  for  attacking  Rome,  183 ; 
policy  of,  in  Italy,  192;  ruse 
of,  to  deceive  Fabius,  193. 

Hanno,  at  Rhone,  186. 

"  Harold, "  amusements  of,  94, 
95  ;  visit  of,  to  country,  92,  93  ; 
visit  of,  to  Greece,  86-98. 

Harrison,  W.  H.,  elected  Presi- 
dent, 499. 

Hartford  Convention,  483. 

Has'dru-bal,  death  of,  196;  march 
of,  to  Italy,  195  ;  in  Spain,  184. 

Hebrews,  chief  ideas  taught  by, 
47 ;  daily  life  among,  38 ;  din- 
ing-room and  dining  of,  43  ; 
early  life  of,  34 ;  in  Egypt,  35 ; 
lamps  of,  42  ;  literature,  begin- 
ning of  study  of,  338  ;  relation  of 
environment  of,  to  their  history, 
26 ;  sketch  of  history  of,  44-45. 

Hel'les-pont,  crossing  of,  by 
Xerxes,   107. 

Hesiod,  99. 

Hestia,  sacrifice  to,  96. 

Hi'e-ro-glyph'ic  writing,  69. 

Hip'pi-as,  104;  expelled  from 
Athens,  102. 

Hiram  of  Phoenicia,  54;  educa- 
tion of,  56 ;  helps  to  build  the 
Jewish  temple,  64. 

"  Hirus, "  trip  of,  to  the  sea-coast, 
96,  97. 

History,  comparison  of,  to  a 
stream,  316;  general  view  as 
to  course  of,  316-318;  purpose 
of  study  of,  516,  517. 

Holidays,  number  of,  in  Rome, 
218. 


53Q 


SCHOOL    HISTORY 


Holy  of  Holies,  entered  by  Kufu, 
20-23  ;  in  Egyptian  temple,  25  ; 
in  Hebrew  temple,  35,  36. 

Homer,  91,  94,  99. 

Ho-ra'ti-us,  defense  of  bridge  by, 
161. 

Ho'rus,  god  of,  28. 

Hospitals  for  crusaders,  295. 

Huguenots,  character  of,  369; 
treatment  of,  in  French  colo- 
nies, 414,  415. 

Humanists,  work  of,  333. 

Huns,  attacks  of,  against  Goths, 
258. 

Hypostyle  Hall,  in  Egypt,  25. 

Iliad,  98,  130. 

Immortality,  how  thought  of  by 
Egyptians,  28. 

Independence,  Declaration  of,  454. 

Indians,  allies  of  French,  410; 
conversion  of,  414;  education 
of,  449 ;  in  Spanish  America, 
386,  387  ;  treatment  of,  by  Span- 
ish missionaries,  399,  400  ;  wor- 
ship among,  68. 

Ink,  ancient,  70. 

Inquisition,  Spanish,  367. 

Internal  improvements,  496. 

Isis,  26  ;  worship  of,  27. 

Is'sus,  battle  of  the,  133. 

Italy,  building  stone  in,  152  ;  geog- 
raphy of,  147-153;  importance 
of,  in  Crusades,  312,  313;  rela- 
tion of,  to  Renascence,  331. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  political  prin- 
ciples of,  492 ;  President  of 
United   States,  493. 


Ja'nus,  160. 

Jefferson,    President     of     United 

States,  478. 
Jerusalem,    houses    in,   41 ;    how 

lighted,    41  ;   importance  of,  to 

Crusades,  294 ;   market  square 

in,  40  ;  traveling  in,  40. 
Jesus,  place    of    his    labors,  46 ; 

quoted,  40. 
John,  King  of  England,  322. 
Jordan  River,  description  of,  36. 
Joseph  in  Egypt,  22. 
"  Judah,"  Jewish  life  of,  42-44. 
Ju-gur/tha,  224. 

Kansas,  admission  of,  506  ;  migra- 
tion to,  506. 

Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  505,  506. 

King  of  Egypt,  how  regarded  by 
people,  20. 

Kings,  last  of,  in  Rome,  161. 

Knight,  description  of,  in  Middle 
Ages,  284-286. 

"  Kufu,"  daily  life  of,  18-26 ;  tomb 
of,  30,  31. 

Lafayette,  455. 

Learning,  how  transmitted,   143 ; 

method  of  its  growth,  75;  state 

of,  in  Middle  Ages,  330. 
Lebanon  Mountains,  36,  54. 
Le-on'i-das,  82 ;  at   Thermopylae, 

108. 
Libraries,  ancient,  74;  size  of,  in 

Middle  Ages,  336. 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  507,  508,  511  ; 

death  of,  513,  514. 
Literature,    effects    of     Crusades 

upon,  311,  312. 


INDEX 


531 


Lombardy,  plain  of,  148. 

Longfellow  -quoted,  3. 

Lord,  duty  of,  to  vassal,  277,  278. 

Louis  XIV,  purpose  of,  in  Ameri- 
can colonization,  415,  416. 

Louisiana  Purchase,  421,  479,480. 

Loyalists,  454. 

Luther,  Martin,  death  of,  366; 
discussion  of,  with  Eck,  360; 
early  life  of,  355-357;  journey 
of,  to  Worms,  358,  359;  leading 
traits  of,  357,  362,  363,  365- 
367  ;  sympathy  of,  for  common 
people,  359,  362,  367 ;  work  of, 
355-367- 

Macedonia,   description    of,    127; 

people  of,  127. 
Magna  Charta,  how  secured,  323. 
Ma-ne'tho,  20. 

Mangonel,  description  of,  305. 
Manna,  pot  of,  49. 
Mantelets,  description  of,  305. 
Manuscripts,  erasing  of  writing  of, 

in  monasteries,  271. 
Mar'a-thon,  battle  of,  104;  results 

of  battle  of,  104. 
Marco  Polo,  312. 
Mar-do'ni-us,  no. 
Mariner's  compass,  use  of,  311. 
u  Marius,"  Roman  boy,  life  of,  1 56. 
Marius,    Roman   general,   life    of, 

224-226. 
Market-place  in  early  Greece,  93. 
Mars,  sacrifices  to,    165;  worship 

of,  164. 
Maryland,    early  history   of,  443, 

444  ;  religious  freedom  in,  444. 
Mayflower  Compact,  427. 


Med'i-ci,  family  of,  relation  of,  to 
Renascence,  335. 

Messages,  early  method  of  send- 
ing, 67. 

Me-tau'rus,  battle  of,  194. 

Mexican  War,  404,  500,  501. 

Mi'cha-el  An'ge-lo,  work  of,  334. 

Mi'das,  story  of,  133. 

Middle  colonies,  444;  education 
in,  446 ;  government  in,  446 ; 
type  of  the  Union,  447. 

Mill,  ancient,  for  grinding  flour,  43. 

Mil-ti'a-des,  104;  death  of,  108. 

Mining  in  Spanish-American  col- 
onies, 392. 

Missionaries,  work  of,  317. 

Mississippi  River,  importance  of, 
480. 

Missouri  Compromise,  491,  492. 

Modern    nations,  foundations   of, 

3l8>  3l9- 

Mohammedanism,  rise  of,  293. 

Mohammedans,  learning  of,  294. 

Monastery,  books  in,  269  ;  charac- 
ter of,  in  Renascence  period, 
340;  closing  of,  369,  371;  daily 
life  in,  266;  decay  of,  271,  272; 
education  in,  266;  entrance  of, 
into  feudal  system,  278 ;  good 
effects  of,  272;  increase  of 
wealth  of,  262  ;  medical  art  in, 
267;  original  histories  in,  270; 
value  of,  272,  273;  writing  and 
copying  in,  268. 

Monastic  church,  description  of, 
262. 

Monasticism,  early  ideas  of,  259; 
in  Spanish  colonies,  398,  399 ; 
vows  of,  265. 


532 


SCHOOL    HISTORY 


Monks,  conditions  of  becoming, 
265;  dress  of,  265 ;  early  labors 
of,  260,  261 ;  traits  of,  267. 

Monroe,  James,  President  of 
United  States,  484. 

Monroe  Doctrine,  404,  484,  485. 

Moon,  how  regarded  by  Spartans, 
103. 

Moore,  Thomas,  work  of,  351,  352. 

Moors  in  Spain,  380. 

Moses,  leader  of  Hebrews,  35. 

Mum'mi-us  conquers  Corinth,  209. 

Mummy,  Egyptian,  28. 

Napoleon,  plan  of,  to  colonize 
Mississippi  valley,  421. 

"  Nar-cis'sa,"  90  ;  marriage  of,  91. 

Nation,  development  of,  468-519. 

Nations,  sources  of  strength  of, 
346. 

u  National  Republican "  Party, 
492. 

National  Road,  496  ;  construction 
of,  491. 

Negro,  our  duty  to,  515. 

Nero,  treatment  of  Christians  by, 
232. 

New  England,  compact  settlement 
in,  430,  431  ;  government  in, 
433,  435 ;  growth  of  manufac- 
turing, 483;  landholding  in, 
436;  source  of  liberties  in,  430. 

New  England  colonies,  education 
in,    435,    436;    government    in, 

432-434. 
New  Testament,  translation  of,  by 

Erasmus,  340,  353. 
Newspapers  in  America,  448. 
Nic'o-lo  de  Nic'o-li,  work  of,  335. 


Nile,  cause  of  overflow,  19;  descrip- 
tion of,  18, 19 ;  the  "  Welcome  " 
to,  26. 

Nile  valley,  irrigation  of,  21. 

Normans  in  England,  321. 

Northwest  Territory,  how  secured, 
458. 

Nullification,  doctrine  of,  498  ;  in 
South  Carolina,  493. 

Numa,  character  of  rule  of,  159, 
160. 

Nu-mid'i-an  cavalry,  skill  of,  185. 

Objects,    use    of,    in     expressing 

thought,  68. 
Ohio  Company,  458. 
Olive  oil,  use  of,  for  butter,  156. 
O-lym'pi-a,  games  at,  122. 
Olympian  games,    description   of, 

123;  honor  of  winning  in,  123; 

those  who  attended,  122,  123. 
Olympus,  Mount  of,  home  of  the 

gods,  8^. 
"  Omnibus  Bill,"  503,  504. 
Oracles,  Grecian,  83. 
Oregon   Territory,  acquisition  of, 

502. 
O-si'ris,  Egyptians'   belief  in,  19; 

how    regarded   by   priests,    27; 

sacrifices  to,  19. 
Os'tra-cism,  105. 
Oxford  University,  study  at,  351. 

Painting  among  ancient  Greeks,95- 
Painting  and  sculpture,  rise  of,  in 

Middle  Ages,  341. 
Palestine,  description  of  country, 

35 ;  in    time   of    Solomon,    37  ; 

plants  and  animals  of,  37. 


INDEX 


533 


Paper,  how  made   in   Egypt,  23; 

kinds  of,  in   monasteries,  268; 

linen,  first  made,  350. 
Papyrus  paper,  descriptions  of,  70 ; 

protection  of  rolls  of,  7 1;  scarcity 

of,  in  Middle  Ages,  270  ;  sold  in 

Jerusalem,  40 ;  used  at  Alexan- 
dria, 142. 
Papyrus  plant,  description  of,  18; 

use  of  for  boats,  20. 
Parchment,  description  of,  73. 
Parliament,  first  meeting  of,  325  ; 

growth     of,    324-327  ;     second 

meeting  of,  325. 
Parnassus,  Mount  of,  79,  80. 
Par-rha'si-us,  209. 
Par/the-non,  description  of,  115. 
Parties,  origin  of,  in  America,  470, 

471. 
Patricians  in  Rome,  164. 
Pay  for  public  service  in  Athens,  119. 
Pe-nel'o-pe,  89. 
Pennsylvania,    roadway     to     the 

West,  447. 
Pert-cles,  leader  of  Athens,  113. 
Per'seus,  King  of  Macedon,  206. 
Persia,  extent  of  empire  of,  102. 
Persian  army,  description  of,  133  ; 

implements  of  warfare  of,  136; 

size  of,  131. 
Persian  troops,  description  of,  107. 
Peter  the  Hermit,  relation  of,  to 

Crusades,  289. 
Petrarch,  work  of,  332. 
Phalanx,  description  of,  128. 
Phid'i-as,  Greek  sculptor,  105,  209; 

work  of,  115. 
Phi-dip'pi-des,    102,    103 ;    trip   to 

Sparta,  99. 


Philip,  death  of,  129;  hostage  at 
Thebes,  128 ;  war  against 
Greece,  128. 

Philosopher,  meaning  of,  117. 

Phoenicia,  56,  57,  60, 63  ;  fruits  of, 
55;  geography  of,  54;  religion 
of,  64, 65  ;  relation  of  geography 
of,  to  government,  77;  size  of, 
55;  slaves  of,  56. 

Phoenician  civilization,  relation 
of,  to  Greece  and  Egypt,  64; 
relation  of,  to  history,  65. 

Phoenicians,  colonies  of,  171; 
early  teachers  of  Greeks,  95 ; 
helped  to  build  temple  in  Jeru- 
salem, 47 ;  improvement  of 
alphabet  by,  74;  trade  of,  78. 

Phonetic  writing,  69. 

Pictures,  used  for  letters,  23;  use 
of,  in  writing,  68. 

Pilgrims,  early  history  of,  427. 

Pi-sis'tra-tus,  tyrant  at  Athens,  101. 

Pi-zar'ro,  work  of,  384. 

Plain  about  Rome,  1 55. 

Planter,  southern,  home  of,  442,443. 

Pla-tae'a,  battle  of,  no. 

Plebeians,  166  ;  triumph  of,  168. 

Plow,  description  of  Egyptian, 
22  ;  of  Roman,  157. 

Pnyx,  assembly  in,  119. 

Po  River,  148;  mouth  of,  149. 

Poets,  of  Greece,  99 ;  of  Rome,  231. 

Pom'pey,  rule  of,  at  Rome,  229. 

Ponce  de  Leon,  384. 

Por'se-na,  attack  of,  against  Rome, 
161. 

Pottery,  early  method  of  mould- 
ing and  burning,  13,  14;  early 
attempt  to  beautify,  14. 


534 


SCHOOL    HISTORY 


"  Praise   of    Folly,"  influence  of, 

352- 
President,    method     of     electing, 

477- 

Printing  press,  at  the  South,  442 ; 
development  of,  342;  early 
work  of,  343;  invention  of, 
342 ;  in  New  England,  436. 

Prop-y-lae'a,    description    of,   114, 

US- 
Punic  War,  close  of,  196,  197,  201. 
Puritans,  inconsistencies   of,  431, 
432  ;  settlement  of,  in  New  Eng- 
land, 428,  429;  Sunday  observ- 
ance of,  431. 
Pyd'na,  battle  of,  206. 
Pylon,  25. 

Pyramid,  description  of,  31. 
Pyr'e-nees,   crossing   of,  by   Han- 
nibal, 184. 

Quakers,  446. 

Questions  of  the  present,  515,  516. 

Ra,  god  of,  28. 

Races  in  Rome,  219. 

Railroads,  beginning  of,  in  United 
States,  497. 

Ram,  bore,  tower,  description  of, 
306. 

Reformation,  causes  leading  to, 
348-350 ;  discussion  of,  348- 
375;  progress  of,  in  chief  Euro- 
pean countries,  367-37 1  ;  results 
of,  374-377 ;  transplanted  to 
America,  378. 

Religious  freedom,  at  the  South, 
443  ;  growth  of,  in  English  colo- 
nies, 432. 


Renascence,  125;  meaning  of, 
329,  330 ;  movement  of,  329. 

Republican  Party,  508. 

Revolution,  American,  close  of, 
455;  effect  of,  455,  456  ;  princi- 
ples upon  which  fought,  453. 

Rhea  Silvia,  marriage  of,  1 59. 

Rhone,  crossing  of,  by  Hannibal, 
186. 

Rice,  culture  of,  443. 

Rivers,  in  Greece,  81 ;  in  Europe, 
239. 

Roads,  in  Palestine,  39 ;  in  Phoe- 
nicia, 78,  79 ;  in  Rome,  152,  169; 
influence  of,  on  Roman  govern- 
ment, 169,  223. 

Roman    civilization,    spread     of, 

231*  332. 

Romans,  amusements  of,  214,215; 
armor  and  weapons  of,  1 88-191 ; 
army  of,  191  ;  great  lessons 
taught  by,  195. 

Rome,  central  position  of,  155, 
204;  colonies  of,  169;  contri- 
bution of,  to  civilization,  234, 
235  ;  founding  of,  1 54  ;  growth 
of,  162,  169,  170,  203;  greed  of, 
205;  luxury  of,  213;  power  of, 
to  rule,  204 ;  Teutonic  conquest 
of,  254. 

Rom'u-lus,  death  and  worship  of, 
1 59  ;  King  of  Rome,  1 59. 

Romulus  and  Remus,  story  of,  1 58. 

Runes,  250. 

"  Ruth,"  Hebrew  education  of, 
43-44- 

Sabbath  among  the  Hebrews,  46. 
Sacred  Mount,  secession  to,  164. 


INDEX 


535 


Sacrifices    among    the    Hebrews, 

Sa-gun'tum,  attack  of,  183. 

Sailors,  Phoenician,  57,  58. 

St.  Benedict,  rules  of,  204. 

Sara-mis,  battle  of,  1 10. 

Sandals,  42. 

Sap'pho,  99. 

Sar'dis,  burning  of,  103 ;  rebuild- 
ing of,  107. 

Schools,  Mohammedan,  331. 

Scip'i-o,  work  of,  196,  197,  199. 

Scriptorium,  description  of,  269. 

"  Scrolls  "  of  the  Hebrews,  45. 

Sculpture,  Egyptian  and  Grecian, 
compared,  29.      • 

Sea  of  Galilee,  36. 

Seignior  in  French  colonies,  410- 
412. 

Senate,  early  Roman,  164;  wisdom 
of,  194;  decline  of,  224. 

Senators,  Roman,  dress  of,  163 ; 
selection  of,  159. 

Serfs,  status  of,  278. 

Seventh  Grade,  aim  in,  378. 

Sheep  in  early  Rome,  158. 

Shield  of  Mars,  160. 

Shows,  gladiatorial,  220. 

Sicily,  cities  in,  180 ;  description 
of,  179  ;  "granary  of  Rome," 
179;  productsand  value  of,  178- 
180;  surrendered  to  Rome,  181. 

Simon  de  Montfort,  433. 

Sixth  Grade  work,  aim  of,  292. 

Slavery,  in  Athens,  124;  in  Rome, 
210-212;  in  United  States,  485- 
491  ;  in  Virginia,  338. 

Slaves,  trade  in,  in  Carthage,  174; 
in  Rome,  211. 


Small  countries,  great  truths  taught 

^  S3- 
Socrates,    death    of,     118,     119; 

method  of,  in  teaching,  117, 118. 
Solomon,  dedication  of  temple  by, 

5*- 

Solon,    legislation    of,   100,    10 1  ; 

travels  of,  101. 
Soothsayer  in  Greece,  95. 
South  Carolina,  attitude  of,  toward 

tariff,  493 ;  secession  of,  509. 
Southern    colonies,  education  in, 

441,  442  ;  religion  in,  441. 
Southern  States,  secession  of,  510. 
Spain,   decline   of  power  in,  405, 

406 ;  early  history  of,  402-405  ; 

government  in,  381  ;  motives  of, 

in  colonization,  383. 
Spanish     colonies,     in     America, 

character   of   life   in,    379-395 ; 

education  in,  395 ;  government 

in,  388,  389,  391  ;  rebellion  of, 

403 ;  religion  in,  396-399. 
Spanish    possessions,    extent    of, 

400. 
Sparta,  kings  of,  100. 
Spar'ta-cus,  rebellion   of,   against 

Rome,  212. 
Spartan  league,  112. 
Sphinxes  in  Egypt,  25. 
Spindle,  description  of,  12. 
Spinning  machine,  ancient,  12. 
States,  admission  of,  490,  501. 
Steamboat,  invention  of,  481. 
Steps    ascending   the    Acropolis, 

114. 
Stylus,  73. 
Sulla,  cruelty  of,  226,  227  ;  death 

of,  227. 


536 


SCHOOL    HISTORY 


Tariff,attitude  of  South  toward,472, 
489,  492 ;  established  by  United 
States,  472  ;  object  of,  484. 

Tarquin  expelled  from  Rome,  161. 

Taylor,  Zachary,  death  of,  504 ; 
President  of  United  States,  503. 

Telegraph,  invention  of,  499. 

Te-lem'a-chus,  bravery  of,  232. 

Temple,  Egyptian,  description  of, 
24  ;  Jewish,  description  of,  48, 
49  ;  greatness  of,  51-53. 

Ten  Commandments,  49. 

Tennyson  quoted,  143. 

Te'rah,  33. 

Teutons,  attack  of,  against  Rome, 
255;  civilization  of,  318;  early 
life  of,  238-257 ;  love  of  free- 
dom among,  256,  257. 

Texas,  acquisition  of,  500. 

Tha'li-um  in  Greek  house,  89,  95. 

The-mis'to-cles,  advice  of,  to 
Athenians,  105. 

Ther-mop'y-lae,  battle  of,  108,  109. 

Thes'pi-ans,  aid  of,  at  Thermopylae, 
109. 

Third  Grade  work,  scope  of,  76. 

Thor,  248. 

Thoth,  the  god  of,  23. 

Tiber,  harbor  at  mouth  of,  155. 

Ti-be'ri-us  Grac'chus,  work  of,  222. 

Tobacco,  culture  of,  in  Virginia, 

438- 
Tombs,  Egyptian,  29,  30. 
Tournament,  description  of,   287, 

288. 
Township     government    in    New 

England,  433,  434. 
Trade,  Phoenician,  importance  of, 

62. 


Trade-routes,  ancient,  58  ;  in  time 
of  Crusades,  310,  313. 

Traditions,  meaning  of,  67. 

Tras-i-me'nus,  battle  of,  192. 

Tribunes,  origin  of,  in  Rome,  165. 

Tri'reme,  description  of,  57. 

Triumph,  Roman,  description  of, 
207,  208 ;  on  what  condition 
given,  208. 

Troy,  land  of,  131. 

Turks,  relation  of,  to  Crusades, 
295,  296. 

"  Twelve  Tables  "  of  the  law,  167. 

Tyndale,  translation  of  the  Bible 
by,  372. 

Tyr,  bravery  of,  248. 

Tyrant,  meaning  of,  in  Greece,  101. 

Tyre,  location  of,  56,  64  ;  destruc- 
tion of,  135,-136,  172;  fortifica- 
tions of,  135. 

Tyrians,  slavery  of,  135. 

Union,  growth  of,  451,  456  ;  nature 

of,  468. 
United  States  Bank,  establishment 

of,  473.  494- 
United  States,  capitals  of,  479; 
condition  of,  509  ;  extent  of,  in 
1789,  469;  industrial  develop- 
ment in,  495,  496,  502  ;  mental 
development   in,    502;  mint  of, 

474- 
Universities,    American,    448; 
growth   of,  350;  study  in,  350, 

351- 
Ur,  location  of,  33. 
Urban  II,  relation  of,  to  Crusades, 

297,  298. 
"  Utopia,"  influence  of,  351. 


INDEX 


537 


Val-hal'la,  hall  of,  247. 

Vandals,  255. 

Vassal,  ceremony  of  making,  277; 
duty  of,  277. 

Venice,  location  of,  149. 

Vesta,  priestess  of,  163  ;  worship 
of,  165. 

Virginia,  court-day  in,  440;  early 
settlement  of,  437,  43S ;  liberty 
in,  440  ;  representative  govern- 
ment in,  439. 

Virginia  and  Kentucky  Resolu- 
tions, 477,  478. 

Volga  River,  description  of,  5,  6. 

"Volume,"  early  meaning  of,  142. 

War,  Cuban,  516;  Greco-Persian, 
no;  implements  of,  in  Rome, 
198  ;  of  1812,  482,  483. 

Washington,  George,  advocates 
western  expansion,  458,  4*9; 
death  of,  476  ;  chosen  leader  in 
Revolutionary  War,  455;  inau- 
guration of,  as  President,  470. 

Weaving,  early  methods  of,  12. 

Western  emigration,  481. 

Western  growth,  475,  476. 


Western  settlers,  character  of, 
476. 

Wheat,  threshing  and  cleaning  of, 
in  primitive  times,  22. 

Whig  Party,  origin  of,  492. 

"  Wild  Cat"  Banks,  494,  495. 

William  and  Mary,  principles  of 
liberty  advocated  by,  324. 

Williams,  Roger,  founding  of 
Rhode  Island  by,  429,  430. 

Wine  used  by  Greeks,  91. 

Winthrop,  John,  428. 

Wodin,  247. 

Worms,  Diet  of,  and  Luther,  362. 

Writing,  errors  in,  in  Middle  Ages, 
269 ;  in  early  times,  342 ;  mate- 
rials of,  in  ancient  times,  70,  7 1  ; 
in  monastery,  268. 

Xerx'es,  army  of,  106  ;  flight  of, 
to  Asia,  no;  King  of  Persia, 
106 ;  march  of,  against  Greece, 
107. 

Za'ma,  battle  of,  196. 
Zeus,  122. 
Zeux'is,  209. 


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